A Homeward Voyage
by 0namakiza0
Summary: (warning: OC story- see the submission profile in My Stories) Lily is a spoiled, pampered girl who wants to get from one island at one end of Reverse Mtn. to another island at the other end, where she will live the rest of her life as a wealthy housewife. Sound easy. But an unfortunate event causes her perfect plans to be, well, screwed.
1. Prologue

**so yes, I finally got off my butt and wrote it. Please excuse the short prologue...trust me..it's gonna be MUCH longer...ehehehehe.**

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Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come, In yours and my discharge

~William Shakespeare

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Because nothing ever really _ends_.

Sure, it may fade.

It may get lost.

It may be forgotten.

But it never really _ends_.

The Strawhat Pirates were a thing of the past- a GREAT thing of the past, surely, but their revolution has faded. Their change, though strong, like a tidal wave, has receded, leaving only the lapping of small waves against the shoreline. Their influence has not been forgotten.

But there is no such thing as utopia. It is far, far into the future, and who has time to read about great history when there is money to be gained, fortunes to be made, ambitions to satisfy? It is much like the world was before the influence of those great pirates, wherein only few and far between remember the old tales. Even descendants have sought to forget an honorable history, to forget the baggage of information that history holds, and to start anew. To make their own fortunes. To be so-and-so, the great warrior , the honorable hero, instead of so-and-so, just the son or daughter of legends long dead. Still some cling onto their genealogy, and seek to uphold the honor of the family.

But enough with the fancy introduction.

This story is not a story of heroes and heroines revolutionizing the world. If you seek a long, wild, adventurous journey, fraught with danger and anticipation and love and soap operas, this may not be the story for you. This is simply a realistic story about growth and experience, about overcoming obstacles and such. But the people in the following story did not change the world and radically change their way of thinking. Many of these people did not even become well-known. Some are still living and hidden, waiting until time brings adventure to them once again. But though they did not make a great change upon the world, they made a great change upon each other. And is that not what counts most?

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**Get ready for the long and awkward Author's Notes in 3...2...1...**


	2. Chapter 1: I am at my best

**A/N: *For those of you who are reading this: I am still accepting Ocs…go to my profile and click the story, or PM me. But at this time…I can't promise all of your Oc's will be used, sorry! **

**So yes…the first chapter…BE WARNED! I introduced like three characters in this. There is a 99.9% chance your character doesn't come in. It's basically backstory and whatnot, so. I'm a really haphazard writer…so I don't write in order. So I already have half of Chapter 3…but none of chapter 2…haha.  
**…**I guess all I can ask is to not kill me after you read it TT I already know I'm a less than perfect writer, lol. **

* * *

"I don't WANT to!" Lily screamed.

"But, Lily-"

"NO! I won't, and you can't MAKE me!"

But they did.

And that was why Lily was laying on her bed, pouting and scowling for all she was worth.

On a_ ship._

She groaned. She knew this would happen. She had just pushed it to the back of her head. And now that it was actually happening, she didn't know what to do.

Sighing, she placed the heels of her hands over her eyes and rubbed them tiredly.

It had only been a few weeks ago she was okay. Everything was as it should be.

**[***]**

Lilianette Bloom- or Lily, to her closer friends- was perfect, or so she would have said of herself. Sitting in front of the vanity mirror, she admired herself from different angles. She wouldn't call herself _vain_, simply…prideful of the assets she possessed. She was built like a doll. She was skinny, pale, petite. She did not have one blemish on her skin, because, as a nobleman's daughter, she had not done a day's work in her entire 19 years of life. Her fingers were thin and dainty, and as they reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, she admired the shining gems on them. Her father was a jewel trader, an odd specimen, a nobleman merchant. It seemed that they had always had money, but her father was quite bored with it as a child, and thus took up a business with gemstones. He proved to be a natural, and quickly dominated the gemstone market. As a daughter, she was not expected to follow the business, but nights of sitting at her father's side while he examined and explained had made her very good , if not as good as her father, at the art of separating the fakes from the genuine, the ones that would sell well and the ones that were a dime a dozen.

And she was not a dime a dozen, she mused silently, brushing her golden curled locks. Her father was very handsome, and she had inherited his quick mind, but her beauty was all her mother's. A button nose, wide blue eyes that mirrored the sky on a clear day, and long lashes was framed by carefully styled bangs. Again, a perfect, porcelain doll.

And like a doll, she quite liked being pampered and praised. She heard about daughters of noblemen being frustrated and running off to pursue some foolish dream of adventure and whatnot, but Lily simply laughed at them. Only fools willingly left a warm home, money, wealth, riches, a warm bed, for _adventure_. What did that entail? Most likely less food, uncomfortable shelter, and the fear of death and disease and interaction with commoners. To be sure, she was not a World Noble. She had heard tales about their wealth and fame, but sneaking into the kitchen at night, she had also heard frightening tales of their cruelty to slaves and pirates and marines alike. She had always brushed it off as tales servants told each other to pass the time, but she couldn't shake the images that they had described- tall, towering people, beatings, abuse, torture. She shuddered at the thought. She at least, had always been taught to treat servants with respect and charity, as they were the unfortunate, and not as well off as she.

"Mistress Lilianette?" A soft voice called quietly from the door. A maid poked her curly, brown haired head in Lily's room. "The Madame wishes to see you in the parlour."

As Lily nodded, "Tell her I'll be just a second," the maid shut the door, leaving as silently as she arrived.

Lily gave her hair a few more pats and rose from the table. Her skirt swished past the table legs. The dress was made of blue silk and white velvet, with a smattering of ruffles here and there, and a large lace ruffle under her neck. She loved the two fabrics- but velvet especially.

She had a reason.

She headed downstairs to the sitting room where her mother loved to frequent and entertain visitors. Knocking three times as she reached the door, to hear a "Come in, darling," from her mother, she pushed the door open.

Her head was politely angled downwards, as was correct for young ladies when entering a room. But she did glance upwards and quickly assess the room. She simultaneously relaxed and tensed when she saw the brown-haired bodyguard standing behind her mother.

"Lily, sweetheart. Have a seat. We're expecting some guests to come over. Be a good girl and remember your etiquette…" her mother's voice faded out of Lily's head as she inspected Mikhaael.

He had been her bodyguard since she found him in her garden. She had been fascinated with the flowers, especially her namesake, the lovely white and majestic tiger lilies, symbolizing virtue and pride respectively. She had rushed out to see which ones had bloomed, when she saw his figure lying motionless under an almond tree. The pink flowers of the sweet almonds, and the white flowers of the bitter almonds that her father so loved, were all in bloom. Some petals had fallen on him. She had knelt down beside him and brushed some flowers off his forehead and into his wavy brown hair, then long and unkempt. She was 8 then, he had just turned 16. He had been twice as old as she, but she liked him instantly. A gardener had stumbled upon them and Lily ordered him to go get her parents. While he recovered, Lily pleaded and begged and whined incessantly for her parents to accept him and give him a job and make him stay _somehow_. When he awoke, he found himself thrust into the position of bodyguard for the young girl who was so taken with him. He soon grew into the lifestyle. Lily's father had found him to be quite intelligent, and often talked over business with him. He was sent on errands infrequently, for Lily could not bear to be apart from him for too long. After a few years, her father gave him a permanent place in the household, for someone who would tolerate Lily for so long was definitely a diamond in the rough. Being so much older than her, he was her brother, father, friend and confidante all in one. There was no one else she trusted more in the world.

But although she trusted him with everything, he never offered much about himself in return. The most anyone got out of him was that he was called Mikhaael Lektav, he spoke with a lilting foreign accent, and he was a good fighter who was patient and willing to leave whatever life he had before to serve the Bloom family.

For Lily, that was enough. That _used_ to be enough.

Yet as she got older, she wondered if perhaps, he thought of her as much as she thought of him.

But she brushed those thoughts aside. She didn't want to scare him off. Mik was a patient person, and if he wanted to he would make his move in his own time.

"-and I think that's them right now!" Her mother's voice broke into her musings. She looked around to see the maid pull the door open for the butler, who led a splendidly dressed woman and a younger man -her son?- behind her into the room.

"Thank you Bentley, you may go." The butler bowed once and left the room.

"Please have a seat," Lily's mother motioned towards the empty armchairs across from them. "I am so pleased you were able to find the time to accept our invitation. I trust the travel wasn't too hard?"

"It was our pleasure," the other woman responded. "The travel went splendidly. The seas were quite calm and devoid of pirates or other mongrels." Her voice was confident, self assured. She was dressed in simple fabric, but it was designed so artfully there was no question that she was a noblewoman. Unlike Lily's mother, Lily noticed, with her demure voice and ruffling dresses and doll appearance, the other noblewoman spoke with confidence, held herself with grace, and had impeccable dark hair and green eyes. The qualities were likewise seen in her son, who was dressed in black dress pants, a white button-up shirt, and a dark green vest that matched his eyes. He wasn't that bad looking, Lily concluded. When he saw Lily giving him a once-over, he smirked and winked at her, causing her to blush, embarrassed to be caught staring.

_But_, she pondered, glancing at Mik, _there is only one person whose eyes could ever make my heart race_.

For the next quarter hour, the two noblewomen made the necessary polite small talk that was the norm among high-class ladies, as Lily and the other boy picked at their nails or stared outside the window or counted tiling on the floor or _something_ to keep themselves amused. Mikhaael simply stood impassively, in the shadows beside the window, either staring at nothing or closing his eyes.

"Now let us talk about the matter at hand, shall we, Madame Bloom?" The other noblewoman asked.

Lily's mother smiled. "Of course, Madame Rain. Have the necessary preparations for the wedding been made?"

As Madame Rain nodded, Lily's ears suddenly perked up at the word 'wedding'. She knew it was rude for her to interrupt when grownups were speaking, but she couldn't help it. "Wedding? What wedding?"

As her mother silently scolded her for talking out of turn with her eyes, Madame Rain answered. "Why, your marriage of course, dear. To my son, Jupiter." **(A/N: please excuse the awkward name. I was listening to Drops of Jupiter while writing. He's not gonna be a recurring character, no worries XD) **

Lily was completely shocked into silence. But not for long. "With who? Him?" She asked while pointing at the other boy. Her mother quickly smacked her hand while hissing, "Lilianette! It's rude to point!". The other boy seemed amused. His mother raised an eyebrow and replied, "No dearie, this is my son Cirrus. Jupiter is his older brother." She sighed. "Unfortunately he had business to attend to, so he could not arrive for our meeting. However, because he and Cirrus are brothers, I thought you would like to see a general appearance of what Jupiter would look like, because Jupiter and Cirrus look very similar."

Lily was still opening and closing her mouth from the sheer shock, like a fish on land.

_Married?!_

She simply could not believe it. When did they decide this? Why did she have no say? Why _so sudden? _She wanted to protest, but one steely glance from her mother had told her she had already said too much, and to sit down and shut her mouth. So, against her wishes, she sat still and listened to her mother and Cirrus's mother talk over the last minute plans. She was to marry Jupiter in around a month's time. They would have the wedding on June Island, where the Rains lived. However, it was quite far from Spring Island, where the Blooms resided. Weather willing, the journey itself would take around 2 weeks. She would have the rest of the month to pack all her things and get ready to depart on the first of May, so that they could get married in June, as per the Island's name.

_May_, she thought tiredly as she escorted the Rains out. _The time when spring ends and all the prettiest flowers begin to die on Spring Island._

_How appropriate. _

**[***]**

The month had passed in a whirlwind of activities. Packing her things, bidding farewells to friends.

She had never thought she would ever leave her family, her home. She had never thought about even the possibility that she might have to say goodbye to the nurses and maids that she had known since she was a toddler. She had always known, of course, that she would be married, but she had always wanted to be married in the gardens of her childhood, with someone that she had grown to love. Of course, she knew that as a daughter of noble birth, she would most likely have little to no say in who she married, but she always pushed that thought away.

And now it was coming at her full force.

She was going to travel hundreds- no, thousands! - of miles to marry a man she had never seen before, to spend the rest of her life _on their _island, never seeing her homeland again! She was overreacting- she would obviously be able to visit her parents later on- but it sure seemed like it. The only thing that kept her sane through the entire month was the fact that Mik would be with her during the trip. Because her parents would not be escorting her- in fact, they would not leave until she had settled in and set a wedding date- the only protection she had was Mik and the transport service that her family had hired. _Transport service_, she snorted. _As if I were just a crate of goods, waiting to be shipped off the customer. _

She knew she was being unfair. After all, Jupiter would be in the same situation as her, and he would have no say in the matter either. Through careful probing (well, screaming did the trick) she had learned the reason for the abrupt marriage. There was a large market for jewels and gemstones that had yet to be tapped into over at June Island. Also, the status of her family had been under question. Others questioned whether they were from noble blood, for why would her father have to go into the trade business if they were truly noble and wealthy? The Blooms must be losing money, rumors whispered and spread. A marriage between the two families would further the alliance between the two islands. The jewel trade of her father would prosper, and their status would rise even higher with the influence of the Rains, until there was no question they were of noble blood, for why would a prestigious family marry into a common family? It was for the good of her family, and she shouldn't be selfish.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

So in the days before leaving, she had protested, kicked, screamed, scowled, pouted, whined, pleaded, begged…done anything to change her parents' unwavering minds. But on the day of departure, she grudgingly accepted the fact. At least the Rains were noble and rich, and she would still have the luxuries, if not more, that she already owned. She hugged her father, and kissed her mother goodbye. Her brother was away on a trip, but had written before that he would be there at her wedding, and that he wished her happiness and a safe journey. She stood on the ship with everything she owned packed into boxes, and thanked the Gods she was not seasick.

After watching the last vestiges of the island she called home disappear, she locked herself in her room for the journey, and threw herself onto her bed, which is where we found her at the beginning of the chapter.

Rubbing her face, she groaned and punched her pillow in frustration. The action hurt her hand, and she cradled it in her other arm. She really was quite a dainty person. When she first got on the ship, a ship hand had asked her to grab a rope from across the ship and hand it to him, as he was trying to steady a piece of the ship that had come loose. She had simply stared at him. Did he think that she would _actually_ run all the way across the ship, to grab a rope for him? Who did he think she was? She was about to scold the poor sailor when Mik, ever-understanding, had gotten the rope and brought it over for the sailor and together, helped steady the boom to the column of the mast. He then shook the sailor's hand and quietly led Lily to her room, where she had stayed.

He rarely reprimanded her, as he knew that her upbringing had caused her to be, well, quite shallow. But he nudged her when she got too carried away, and because he rarely told her off, she would take his words deeply to heart and immediately stop whatever displeased him.

But the fact remained. What if she was expected to _do_ things at the Rain household? Then her parents would never know, and if Mik left, she would not be able to do anything! She would be like Cinderella, forced to run her own errands, or cook her own meals, or, God forbid, make her own bed! All the horror she could experience ran through her head and she shuddered.

She was driving herself crazy with these thoughts, she told herself. She needed to sleep. She grabbed a long, light blue nightgown and changed quickly before crawling into her blankets. She did not have dinner, but that was okay. She wasn't that hungry. Her stomach was busy tossing and turning from her earlier thoughts. And if she did wake up in the middle of the night and wanted something, she could always make Mik get her something. She quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

**[***]**

_"Pirates!"_

The sudden yell woke Lily up. She gasped and sat up. Taking a second to get her bearings and let the room stop spinning from her sudden movement, she shook her head quickly and let her gaze examine the room.

_Pirates? Had she heard correctly? Or was it in her dream, and everything was fine?_ She quickly got up and looked for Mik. He would know what was going on. She padded softly to her door. She had just placed a hand upon the knob when a loud BANG sounded as the door shuddered from the impact of someone or something. Lily let out a scream and fell back. The door opened and she was about to scream once more at the towering figure looming above her…

When she saw that it was just Mik.

Not holding back her sigh of relief, she leapt upward and hugged him. "Oh my God, are you okay? I heard the noise and…" she trailed off as she noticed the blood on his shirt, now on her own nightgown. Feeling faint, she asked, "What…?"

He looked down and apologized. "Sorry. Get your things together." He quickly filled her in on the information as she packed her things without a word.

"Pirates were spotted on the horizon earlier, but the captain said it was okay, that our ship could easily outrun them. As a precaution, I got most of the dowry you brought into a secret hold in the bottom of the ship. The noise from earlier was from a scuffle- the pirates sent scouts ahead, apparently to see how many on the ship. We defeated them easily, since they only sent a few," at this, he began helping her, stuffing clothes quickly and with less grace than her, a sign of his urgency, "but we have no way of knowing how many are on the ship. And as they're coming closer and closer…" He stopped. "I just want you to go down to the hold, and wait there, until I come get you, okay?"

She nodded wordlessly. She left the cabin to see the deck in a tense atmosphere. Crew members rushed around, readying cannons and guns and keeping a wary eye on the pirates. She could see the batter and bloodied bodies of the dead pirate scouts, and held back the bile rising in her mouth. She focused on Mik's tan, trenchcoat covered back, and refused to look at or acknowledge anything else.

He led her down to the hold, then opened a door to where the rowboats were stored, in case of a quick getaway. He then opened the door to the "secret" hold, disguised as the hull of a rowboat. Opening the trapdoor, there were steep stairs that led to a tiny, cramped room, already full of her chests of clothes and gold and jewels. The room was also slightly damp, suggesting that it was the absolute bottom of the boat. This made Lily painfully aware that there was only a 3 inch thick piece of wood between her, and the seawater.

She clamped her teeth shut so that they wouldn't chatter in fear.

Mik motioned for her to have a seat on a trunk. Before closing the rowboat/trapdoor, he gave her some instructions. "Remember. Don't open the trapdoor for ANYONE, no matter who comes knocking. If you do hear someone, crawl inside one of the larger trunks and close the lid until the sounds go away. Don't make a sound. I will come back as soon as they're gone. Don't leave this room for ANY reason, do you understand, Lily?" He spoke softly and urgently.

She looked up at him, wide eyes brimming with fear, unable to answer. She gave him a slight nod. He smiled.

"It will be okay, Lily," he soothed her before closing the door with a large _thud_, leaving Lily in complete darkness and alone in her thoughts. She took several deep breaths, before deciding that she wanted to crawl into a trunk. The room, though small, felt large and cold. She opened a chest, and finding relatively no clothes, crawled inside and brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head between her knees.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod this was NOT what I signed up for when I left._ She was understandably worried, as she had never been in this kind of situation before and was quite losing her head over it. _Being forced from a lap of luxury to a damp trunk, hiding from pirates, was just sad, _she thought. She knew there was nothing she could do, so she just prayed for Mik, and began to doze. She snapped her head up and bruised it against the top of the trunk. Rubbing her head in agony, she confirmed what had woken her up, _again_.

Pirates.

"Whaddya think's down here?" a gruff male voice sounded from above, muffled by the layer of floor between them. She heard boots thumping across the ceiling and curled herself up tighter.

"Rowboats, from the looks of't," another voice muttered. "Buncha cowards could use 'em ta get 'way."

"Shall we burn them?" a soft voice spoke, different from the others. Lily opened the lid of her trunk to see upwards. Between the cracks of the floorboards, she could see fire, flickering among the shadows.

"Hmm…" the original gruff voice muttered. He seemed to be the leader of the group. "Crush 'em, boys."

Lily knew what was going to happen next as she closed the lid of her trunk hurriedly. Her hands were shaking when the sound of the first CRACK echoed through the hold, the sound of splintering wood reverberating through the floor- or ceiling? Lily couldn't tell anymore. She just clasped her hands further together and prayed silently in her little trunk as the sound of destruction and burning rang above her. _Oh God, I promise I will never complain about this marriage again if you let them leave. I will be a good wife and I will serve my husband and I will not think about Mik ever again and I will be a good person and just please please please make it stop…_

She took a deep breath and inhaled smoke. She muffled her coughs desperately in her clothes. _Were they burning things?_

Every part of her wanted to bolt out of the room to escape being burned alive. It was a testament to how much she trusted Mik that she didn't act on her instincts. "Ey, boss. I tink dis part's 'ollow." she heard thunking above her head. Her heart leapt into her mouth. Could they hear her heartbeat?

To her relief, she heard someone else. "Yeah, it's called the hull, idjit. Below us is water. Of course it's gon sound 'ollow."

Soon it was over. "Let's git outta here." she heard, before hearing the boots tromp away. She was alone again. The fire never spread down to her secret room, courtesy of the damp wood she had protested at earlier.

She clasped her hands tighter, if that were even more possible. She had adjusted to the sounds pounding furiously from above her head and simply ignored it as she waited for Mik to come back and tell her everything was okay.

After what seemed like forever, she heard the door being moved. Too afraid to look to see who it was, she didn't move from her trunk in the hiding spot until she heard the soft, whispered, "Lily?"

It was Mik! She jumped out from the trunk- banging her head once again- and rushed out, sending them both tumbling. "Mik! What's going on? What's happened? There were some pirates who were above and set the room on fire and I was scared so I locked myself in a trunk and-" she stopped as Mik put his hand over her mouth and whispered, "shh."

Her eyes widened and she shut up. Without her voice, she could hear what had been bothering her ever since the pirates had left.

"Mik," she asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer. "Is the ship crashing down around us?"

At his lack of an answer, she closed her eyes, fighting the urge to go into hysterics.

"Lily," he said. "Listen. The pirates are burning this ship down and taking everyone on it prisoner. By now, I think they've left and are watching the ship burn. But," he pushed Lily off him until were both in a sitting position. "under no circumstances can we be taken prisoner, understand? However, I believe we are quite close to an island. Hopefully someone will come and help us. But for now, all we can do is wait. After the water puts out the fire from above us, we have to take all the trunks with us and try to float on debris somehow." Lily nodded, too tired and drained from trying to keep from tearing her hair out or doing some other unladylike act to listen to what he was saying. She was only listening to his voice, soft and gentle, running through her ears and soothing her tired head, like velvet.

Her favorite material.

She nestled her head in his chest, searching for warmth, and finally fell unconscious.

**[***]**

About a mile away, Mira was humming lazily to herself as she floated along, blissfully unaware of anything but the early morning sky and how nice and peaceful it was. She loved the quiet, soothing feeling of being alone, unguided, on the wide expanse of sea. Checking her log pose, she saw that she was not that far away from her destination. In a few hours she would reach Mercor Island. She needed to stock up on a few supplies, then she would take a long nap in a tavern room. It wouldn't do for her to be sleeping on the ship, because she was on the sea and being attacked on the sea, especially as she was alone, meant certain death, and although Mira was curious about dying, she didn't want to go just yet.

She still had things to do.

* * *

Omake:

Strawhat Pirates: So, we're dead.

Me: Yup.

SP: Why?

M: Because….it was too difficult TT and I didn't wanna disturb the canon plotline

Lily: Why am I so spoiled?

M: Because…that's who your creator told you to be like.

L: But I don't like being spoiled! I sound like a total b****!

M: That's the point!

Mik: Wow, there's like no character development for me in here. Like, at all.

Me: I'm sorry TT I made you up to balance out Lily…so YOU DIDN'T EXIST before, okay, I CREATED you!

Mik: In ten seconds, apparently.

Me: ….yeah….

Mik: … *sulks in emo corner*

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**A/N: so you will eventually come to realize I LOVE TO WRITE LONG, RAMBLY AUTHORS NOTES. It's not usually very important, if you were confused about something, or want more background info, or like to hear me talk~~ then it's a good thing to read- otherwise, you're probably not missing anything very important. **

**Now then. **

**BEFORE YOU START THROWING WHO KNOWS WHAT AT ME- I know that I only introduced like THREE characters! But bear with me. I'mma introduce at least TWO more in the next chapter! Promise! *Edit: 4 characters XD**

**So I don't want to make any excuses for Lily, but this is how I was trying to "be" her while writing. (You know how you try to step into the person's shoes while writing?) So she's this girl who's never been expected to anything for herself, much less for others. That's how she's been raised. She doesn't lift a finger to do anything because other people have already done it for her. So I tried to portray her as a selfish, spoiled brat, but she's still somewhat intelligent. She's just…sheltered. Sorta? LOL. Well you're supposed to hate her at first anyway, haha. Also: Notice how I suck at romance? LOL I'm a failure. Okay, to explain some things- YES, Lily is supposed to like Mik. He's like the center of her world and all that, but she knows that its pointless to fantasize because he's so much older (I exaggerated it on purpose, but if you think about it he's only 8 years older, which is not a lot. My uncle and aunt are 7 years apart, and my grandparents? O.O 10 years apart from each other. Older men have experience anyway, so whatever.) and he's also of low birth/mysterious background.  
****Yeah I asked my friend to take a look at it and she said that was the only things that confused her somewhat. If you guys are confused, feel free to review…or PM if you're super unhappy LOL. **

**OH YEAH before I forget: as you can see, this isn't gonna be an adventure story. Well, it is, but it's not a "I have a crew now let's go fight the World Nobles and stuff!" because if you want one of those, PM me and I'll send you 2 bazillion links of stories like that. It doesn't take that much to find them, they're **_**fairly**_** common in the archives. So if you wanted something like that…please accept my dearest apologies and a plate of cookies! If YOU give me 20 bucks, I'll write the story exactly how you want me to XD**

**Oh! And before I forget- There will probably be cursing in this, but I'm loathe to make it anything metaphorically "worse" than "hell". So stuff like "Damn it", "bastard", etc, might be in there (although I personally don't curse regularly [out loud, anyway], so…it's a bit awkward to write LOL. Just be warned. XD  
****And no, I refuse to do the **** thing (in stories) because I feel like if you're gonna say something, it's not like the asterisks make the meaning less or hide the meaning or anything…I mean. -_- Just go out and say it. **

**Btw, I'm still accepting male characters…as you can see…there's like…none…haha. Besides Thao (intro in the next chapter) and Mik, I only have 12 others. Unfortunately, the number of girl characters outnumber those, and like 4 of the 12 are evil. LOL so only eight. Compared to the…1..2..4..8…BLAH however many women. Then again..most guy characters are gonna be main characters, and not all the girl characters are main. So…LOL honestly I just need like small fry criminals for plot in the first few chapters. If I don't get any ill just make up something in ten seconds.. *in background: Mik: HEY!* so don't be surprised if you see a bandit named…Paul…Hall. Who…has the power of..chocolate..and…is allergic to fluffy..cacti..and penguins. LOL YES that is stuff from around my desk. That's where I get my inspiration!~**

**OHOH AND LAST ONE I PROMISE: if you have any ideas for your character, please PM me. I can't promise I'll use it, but I'll consider it and something like it in mind for the future. :) That's all XD**


	3. Chapter 2: With wind in my face

**First of all, you have no idea how many times I've tried to write "dawn" and written "damn" instead. **

**Secondly: Thank you to all the reviews TT I don't know what's going on but sometimes reviews come to my email and sometimes they don't…so I didn't know that anyone had reviewed until I went to check something :3 Y'all make me feel so good~~ Even though I can't respond to everyone individually~ but I will try! Also, a lot of people seem to like Lily…haha I don't know if I'm doing a good job because..you weren't supposed to :P but I guess it works out XD**

**So second chapter…I introduce more characters! If you still don't see yours, be patient! I promise I will get to them all in time ^^ also, no one proofread this one for me…so forgive spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, character discrepancies, the like. LOL by the end of the chapter even I was frustrated and just ended it abruptly. I'm not sure what I want to do next, since I started the story with no real plot. Let's see what happens…LOL. **

**Also, since I am a spazzy writer, half of chapter 4 is done. Um. Also a few tidbits of chapters…6? Maybe? Haha. Enjoy..?**

The dawn came first, sending soft pink and orange rays of light shooting across the silky blue of the sea. Soon, the sun would arise, and bathe the world in light once more.

Mik sighed and surveyed his surroundings. They were essentially floating on nothing but pieces of wood and other debris, and if the sun rose and some pirate came along again, they would most likely be done for.

Miraculously, they were all still afloat, although he couldn't see why, as just Lily's suitcases weighed at least as much as ten-no, fifteen- marines. Strong, sturdy marines, as opposed to those that resembled wheat, easily blown away by the winds of the strong…

Shaking his head in an attempt to prevent himself from becoming too poetic, he focused again at the matter at hand. Though they were floating now, they wouldn't float forever. The wood would eventually break under the pressure and drown them all, or a particularly large wave would wash them all underwater. And he still couldn't see any sight of land, although according to the navigators before they had been attacked, they were very close to a merchant island, a place where people came to trade from all over.

And what would they do afterwards? Eyeing Lily's many trunks and chests, he sighed quietly. They would be under scrutiny and possible attack for the goods inside those chests, as well as Lily. Even the slightest query about her would lead to information about the only daughter of the Bloom family, were they to capture her and hold her for ransom. But without the wealth, they would get nowhere near June Island. He couldn't protect the two treasures by himself. He would need help. He smiled wryly as he wondered who of his friends might still be alive and willing to help him, after all these years. Flashes of colored hair, high pitched giggles, low throaty laughs, scars…all friends who had most likely forgotten him.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the tremor that ran through the woods beneath his legs. Something had bumped into them, from behind.

He eased Lily gently off him and swung around as he heard some cursing from the small, plain boat that had slammed into the wood surrounding them.

His grip tightened on the handle of his blade as he saw a figure rise from the floor of the boat.

"Ugh, I must have fallen asleep. Even after I tell myself to stay awake…ugh." The figure raised a hand and propped its elbow on a bent knee, hand rubbing the back of the neck. "What I'd slam into?" it murmured to itself groggily, raising its eyes.

The girl- for it was a girl, Mik saw- had black hair, messy from sleeping. She had dark brown eyes set in a, if not pale, rather fair face, though Mik could see the faint acne scars still present on her skin. She wore an oriental style top, sleeves growing wider from shoulder to mid-forearm, and the flowing top ended mid thigh, a couple inches above her knees. The shirt was black, and had dark red edging along the ends of the sleeves and shirt, as usual of the kimono-like top. Underneath she wore simple black tights all the way down to her heels, and black flats. Her whole outfit was very simple, composed of blocks of color, mainly black, with the blocks of red. Around her neck she wore a necklace - but what the pendant was, Mik was too far away to see. As she stood up, Mik noticed that she was not tall- 5'5", he estimated, maximum. The fact that he was significantly taller by about 7 inches did assure him, but it was a death wish to underestimate anyone just by their height on the seas. He did not let his grip on his blade slacken.

[***]

The two stared warily at each other. He was tall, Mira noticed, wincing. She was a bit sensitive about her height, as she was so much shorter. She was 23, for goodness sakes, and definitely acted much older, but heightwise she looked 17.

He had short, curly brown hair and brown eyes. She couldn't tell much else, because of his tan trench coat that covered roughly 90 percent of his body. In the small opening at his chest, she saw a dark grey undershirt, stained with blood. _Was he hurt? _Mira wondered, debating whether she should go help him.

_Well, he _is _precariously balanced on floating pieces of burned wood. I mean, you obviously have the upper hand, _Reason reasoned with her.

_But look! There's a girl there! What if he killed her? What if you're next? _Paranoia warned her.

_Calm down, she's probably only sleeping. If he had killed her, why didn't he just shove her underwater? It would remove the evidence and get rid of unnecessary weight. _Reason retaliated.

In the end, Compassion won out. _Look, he's bloodied, and even if it isn't his, it means he just finished a fight. Reason already noticed that he's balanced on little more than wood glue and ashes, and he has a young girl with him, who may or may not be injured. It's your duty as a moral human to help them, _Compassion and Duty both compelled.

Sighing, she made the first move.

[***]

"Hello, stranger." The girl said. He tensed, surprised at the sudden noise breaking the silence between them. She smiled carefully. "Need any, ah, assistance?"

He let out a deep breath. He was loathe to tell her anything- what if she took off with their stuff and ran as soon as he told her they were totally helpless?- but what other choice did he really have? It was either tell her, trust her, the first person he had seen all day, or wait for death or capture.

"Would you mind if we talked on the ship instead of shouting across the sea wind to each other?" he called over. He could see her smirk. "Well, do you promise not to steal my ship and kill me?"

"I'm just as desperate as you would be." He could see her think about this, as well as eyeing the girl at his feet.

At her nod, she quickly pulled a -stick? Mik wasn't sure- out of her wide sleeves and pinned her hair in a graceless bun. It was so quick Mik wasn't even sure how it was possible- one minute her hair was down, the next it was securely pinned with just a stick. He shook his head. It must be a girl thing, he thought wryly. She stepped off her boat and onto a piece of debris. He could see her flounder for one second, trying to find her balance. For a few horrible seconds, he thought she would fall and rushed made a move to go help her but she lifted her arms. "Wait! I got it," she said breathlessly. She navigated cautiously towards his piece of wood. "So, what to do?"

He nodded towards the chests of luggage. Some had floated off in the night, so only a few remained in the general vicinity. She followed his gaze and gave a mock salute. "I'm on it." she called before going back to the ship and steering until the boat was right beside the trunks. While she hefted them over the edge of the boat ("Whoa! What did you put in these, bricks? This better be pure gold you're having me carry. And how did these even float?"), he carefully lifted Lily and set her down in the boat, before then helping her with the rest of them.

Finally finished, (although the boat was tilting at one end), they sat on the opposite side of the chests, cross-legged. Mik could see that the girl was still worried and warily eyeing the sleeping girl and him.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" she asked.

"If you would like to tell me your name, certainly." he answered.

"My real one?"

"If you please."

"Esmira Jane Espagia. Please just call me Mira. No, I insist. I'm think my mother was on drugs when she gave me that name. Actually, who am I kidding, she probably was." she said.

Slightly taken aback at the straightforward introduction, he returned the favor. "My name is Mikhaael Lektav. I am pleased to meet you." He said before slightly inclining his head.

She stared at him with a furrowed brow, before asking, "Are you foreign?"

"I am." he answered.

She kept staring at him, as if she was trying to remember something. Shaking it off, she pursued her earlier topic. "So, go for it. Gimme all the sordid details."

Mik let a smirk grace his face- sordid?- before launching into a short, squared version of the details from his departure. As he neared the end, where he described how he and Lily waited until the pirates had left, as the ship was falling apart on top of them, Mira let out a soft whistle. "Dang, you guys. I would've bolted outta there."

"You guys sure are lucky," she spoke. "Miraculous, really, that you guys didn't get hurt, found, captured, or drowned, and you still have all- most- of your things with you."

"It was quite a miracle." he affirmed. He was a bit unnerved at how she was staring at him so intently. When she suddenly inhaled and gave a "HA!" and clapped her hands, he almost jumped to his feet.

"What- what is it?" he asked?

Her eyes, bright with sudden revelation, she pointed at him. "I know why you seem so familiar now! I thought the way you spoke seemed like something I should know, but I finally remembered." She smiled. "Do you remember Cassandra Angeli?" she asked.

He did remember- vaguely. A tall, elegant woman, who had had so much trouble speaking the first time they met. Pleading blue-grey eyes. "Yes…she was…deaf, was she not?"

If possible, her smile broadened even further. "Well, no. Not exactly, but she can't talk, because of this that and the other. But the last time I visited her, all she could sign was 'angel', 'tan angel', and 'different sound angel'. She must have been referring to the tan coat you wear, and 'different sound angel' must have been because your name sounds like Michael, the angel, but you pronounce the syllables so separately, like 'Mick-hae-el'." She was practically shaking with her glee at finally figuring out the puzzle. "Honestly! I thought she had really lost it that time, I was so confused." she said, shaking her head thoughtfully.

"In all honesty, I did not think that what I did for her was much of a favor to requite such a favorable reaction." he mused.

"Yes, well, she treasures kindness deeply. As do I," she finished and inclined her head. "I'm indebted to you. Whatever you will need for the remainder of your journey, I will do my best to help."

Taken aback, he murmured, "A little kindness goes a long way, does it not?"

"Yes it does," she replied back, hearing him. "Yes it does."

[***]

Lily woke up to a sunny sky. She groaned and squinted against the bright sunlight. Who told the maid to open her curtains? And why was she so sore?

With a sudden flash of realization at where she was, she sat up quickly, ignoring the pain in her head. Was she dead? Was this heaven? Where was Mik?

She nearly screamed as an unknown face appeared in front of her. "Hello, sleepy. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Who-who-who are you? What are you doing here? Where am I? Where is Mik? Am I dead?" She blubbered out, too terrified to think straight.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Well…uh let's see. Who am I? My name is Mira. What am I doing here- it's my boat. Where you are- well, on my boat, I guess. And since I'm not dead, and I'm here with you, I'm guessing you're not dead." She grinned. "And Mik is right there." she gestured towards a mop of brown hair rising from behind a smaller chest, full of his clothes, Lily presumed, as he was no longer wearing his bloodstained grey undershirt.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief. Now feeling safer, she looked around her new surroundings. A small boat, but it was still large enough to (barely) house all her things.

She turned to Mik and began to open her mouth. She was almost exploding from the sheer confusion of the last few hours.

Mik anticipated this and interrupted her before she could talk. "Here." he threw Lily a change of clothes. "Go over there and put it on. I'll answer your questions on the go."

Lily quickly glanced at what he threw her and looked back up, wanting to ask him -

And did a double take. And then screamed.

"Are you serious? Do you honestly expect me to wear this? Do you know what this is?" she lifted the clothing and shook it in their faces. Mira had a confused look on her face and turned to Mik, as if to say "What's going on? Doesn't the girl know how to wear a dress?"

Before Mik could respond Lily steamrolled on, pointing and gesturing wildly at the offending article. "This isn't just a dress, okay? This is an OUTRAGE! You expect me to put this-this monstrosity on my body?"

Mik finally got a word in edgewise. "Lily, it's a fisherwife's dress."

"EXACTLY!" she exploded. "Commoner's clothing! Just LOOK at this material! It's practically made of a burlap SACK!"

"That's because it is…?" Mira said quietly. Lily gave Mira a look of absolute disbelief, shocked and enraged beyond what words could express.

Mik quickly took advantage of the blessed temporary silence. "Look, Lily, we're going to a merchant town, and we don't want to draw any more attention than we already do, with those trunks with us. Just wear the dress and blend in. I promise it will only be for a little while, and then you can change."

Anticipating her further arguing, he gave her a warning glance. "Lily." He said her name seriously and a little exasperated.

Lily knew better than to argue with Mik when he was obviously so tense and worried. She turned away and began to unlace her nightgown, still stained with some random pirate's blood.

"I better get a bath after this," she muttered with a scowl.

[***]

"Look!" Mira exclaimed suddenly. "It's Mercor!"

Mik walked over beside her and squinted. "So it is."

Even Lily got up from where she was sulking on a trunk, to see. "It looks small," she commented.

"Sweetheart, we're still a couple miles away. Trust me, it will get larger." Mira answered.

Along the way, they had recovered some of the rogue trunks that had drifted away with the sea current, but Mik didn't know what they had or had lost until Lily did an inventory herself.

As they approached the port, Lily was staring at the dock with a haughty expression. "It's not much, is it? Even the dock on our estate was bigger. But there are a lot of boats." Mira threw her a bemused expression and shook her head. Dock workers threw them a rope and help them attach their boat to the dock, and then did not spare them a second glance. Mira sighed and blew some hair away. "Well, this is a good sign. It's a busy day, so no one is likely to know or care who you are." She turned around and addressed them both. "Okay, so you guys stay here. You can come up on land, but don't go too far away from your stuff. Don't inventory it or anything yet, just wait here. I'm gonna go take a look around and cash in on some favors people owe me. I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't draw attention to yourselves!" she warned one last time before running off and disappearing into the crowd of people.

Mik looked at Lily, as if asking whether or not she wanted to walk around. She bounced up, saying, "Please, let's just get on land. I'm going to be seasick if I stay on here any longer." So they walked to a stack of large crates right across from where their boat was stationed, and waited.

[***]

She was getting bored. They had been standing here waiting for Mira for the last quarter hour. Where was she? Lily was getting impatient. She had never had to wait FOR people before. She kept tugging at Mik impatiently. Or jiggling her leg, before remembering that that was unladylike behavior. She blew some hair out of her eyes- she had not had a proper bath in days and she was nearing the end of her rope, her hair was so unkempt- she looked at Mik. He was a patient man, he had to be, to deal with Lily on a daily basis. He calmly surveyed the surrounding area for the woman they were waiting on. Lily shook her head. Couldn't he just find another person? What if the girl had ditched them and they were waiting on nothing? It's not like mercenaries like her were hard to find. These days they were a dollar a dozen.

Mik glanced down at his bored companion, smirking slightly as he guessed what she was thinking, with that scowl on her face. She wanted a bath, she wanted to leave, and she wanted him to get him a place to stay and some decent food, no doubt. However, he kept looking. He knew that the girl wouldn't leave them hanging. Well, he hoped anyway. He'd been away from the sea in so long…but that was another reason why he needed her, someone who knew what the present life on the water was like now. Lily did not seem to fully understand their circumstances, but Mik did. Being stranded on a rogue island, with no supplies or protection, but with trunks of wealth….this was not a good situation to be in. He had taken a gamble and trusted that girl, and now he would wait and see if his finely-tuned senses, dulled with the years of service to the Blooms, could still manage to make the right decisions.

Lily sighed and pulled her shawl tighter around her as a breeze blew past. She wrinkled her nose at the worn material. Mira had advised them against wearing their fancy silks and fabrics on the dock, instead handing over some fisherwomen dresses and plain clothes to Mik. It would do no good, she said, for them to be standing out at the pier, and just asking for trouble once someone realized they were rich folk with no real protection of any kind.

But still, to be degraded to this! The material was rough and worn, and scratched her tender, smooth skin that was used to her high-quality silks and velvet. What happened to 'you are what you wear'? Plus, it smelled like fish.

She _hated _fish.

"Yeah, hey you!"

She looked down to see a tiny Chihuahua tugging at the hem of her dress. Confused, she looked around. No one else was around. Everyone else was either busy loading crates and not paying much attention to her.

"Hey! You! Yeah, you! I'm right here!" Again, the sound seemed to have come from the Chihuahua, who had given up on tugging her dress and had settled on sitting and looking up at her expectantly.

She twitched and turned cautiously to Mik. "Mik." she whispered.

"Hm?" The man didn't look up from scanning the crowd for their missing team member.

"I think the dog is talking to me."

At this, Mik turned around with a furrowed brow and a confused expression. "What?"

"Look!" She pointed to the dog, who had grown bored with sitting and was now rolling around on its back, tongue lolling out, begging her to pet him.

Mik looked at her impassively. "Lily, dogs do not talk."

"Yeah, I should sure as hell hope not." The mysterious male voice sounded again. This time Lily clutched Mik's sleeve and tugged. "See? See? Did you hear that?"

Only to hear a quick double sneeze from their left. Once they saw him, perched on a nearby stack of crates, they were surprised they did not see him before.

He was differently dressed from most of the people on the pier. While most workers and fishermen wore plain brown shirts and shorts, this stranger wore pockets.

At least, that's what it seemed like.

He wore a dark green coat with pockets everywhere, and his black cargo pants were also covered in the tiny fabric storage devices. He had a belt full of pouches holding numerous supplies, and strapped to his bare, scar-riddled chest was a bandoleer containing- you guessed it, pockets. A yellow-orange fireball adorned his black cap that sat haphazardly on his near-shoulder length, dull black hair. The tips of his hair were yellow-gold, matching the flecks in his green eyes.

He was quite tall, Lily noticed, taller than Mikhaael, who she considered one of the tallest men she had ever seen. But then, maybe that was because of her own tiny frame. Strapped to his back, they saw, was a large bazooka, a like of which they had never seen before.

Neither Mik nor Lily deigned to raise a hand in greeting. This didn't seem to bother the stranger, who probably would not have bothered to return it. Instead he immediately launched into his own investigation.

"I've been watching you stand here for the past 20 minutes," he said, as he lifted a hand to rub his nose. On his raised hand Lily could see a white band circling his wrist. Three wide rings sat on his three main fingers. Lily's eye for gems and precious stones, honed after years of watching her father assess and analyze jewels, saw that they were no precious metal. They looked to be worthless scraps of tin. Confused, Lily shrugged. Perhaps commoners like him could not tell the difference between useless metals and valuable ones.

"What are ya'll doin'?" he finished with a steady stare at the pair.

"Who wants to know?" Mik asked smoothly. The man's lips twitched into a smirk as he relit his cigarette, dangling from his mouth. "No one just hands out their name that easily nowadays," he shot at them, testing the brown-haired man.

"Well, it seems to me that if you are strong enough to deal with trouble should it return your way, then you should have nothing to fear." Mik replied. "Are you so weak that you cannot give out your name?"

The man's eyes turned steely as his hands balled into fists at the insinuation. "Yeah, you calling me weak?"

"I simply stated a fact that I have observed. Only fools who cannot stand behind their name in battle refuse to give it, for fear of being shamed. Are you one of these people?"

Both men tensed, then the stranger relaxed and laughed, a gruff, enthusiastic laugh.

When he looked back at them, his eyes were smiling. He jumped down from the crates he had been reclining on, and walked towards them. Not all the way, mind. He stuck out his hand. Lily noticed this hand had a black band around the wrist.

"Nguyen Quan Thao, or just Thao."

Mik walked the rest of the way to take his hand, showing that they were equals. "Mikhaael Lektav, or just Mik."

They released the handshake and Thao repeated his question from before. "So what brings you here? Because you two stick out like a sore thumb."

"How so?" Mik questioned. Lily thought the same thing, more indignantly. Wasn't the point of wearing this godforsaken dress so that she did NOT stick out?

"For one thing, your posture. Have you seen the people here? Stoop-shouldered and bent backed, from loading and unloading supplies, from fishing, squinting from the sun." He took this time to smirk at Lily. "Also, that girl is some sort of noble. She also has good posture, her hair shows signs of being taken care of, her skin is too pale for a fisherman's daughter, and she looks _quite_ uncomfortable in those clothes. She's been squirming the whole time."

Lily blushed at being caught so easily and looked away. That stupid Chihuahua was still rolling around in the dirt.

"We're actually waiting for someone-"

"Mik! Lily!" A familiar voice sounded from not too far away in the crowd.

_Finally_, Lily rolled her eyes. _It was about time. _

As she came into view, they could see two much taller girls following her. One was a very tall brunette, long brown hair pulled in a side ponytail, wearing a bemused expression. The other was a slightly shorter, (but still taller than Mira) orange-haired girl, whose curly, orange-blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail, wearing a smile. Both were dressed roughly alike. The brunette wore a dark blue t-shirt with a design of a boat and oars, over green capris and boots. The other wore a red and blue flannel shirt, with long sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Underneath she wore khaki capris, and sandals. Trotting beside her faithfully was a large brown Irish setter.

Mira ran over while the other two walked leisurely. "So these are two of my friends-" she stopped abruptly when she caught sight of the new person, standing next to them.

Of course, after she finished sulking for being possibly the shortest 23 year-old on the planet, she asked politely, "Who is this?"

Thao stepped forward and introduced himself. "My name is Thao, and I was just making the acquaintance of your lovely friends."

Without missing a beat, Mira asked straight out, "Are you a con man?"

Affronted, he responded, "No! No my dear, I am simply," at this he reached into one of the many, many pockets, and pulled out something concealed tightly in his palm. He held it out and unfurled his fingers. At once, a flash of purple fire flared in his hand and quickly extinguished. "An alchemist." he finished.

The two other women had reached them by this point, and looked impressed at his performance. Mira examined Thao once again, and decided to deal with him later on. "Okay then…well as I was saying, these are two of my friends, Marieke," she gestured towards the tall brunette with grey-blue eyes, who stared and allowed a little smile. "Call me Kiko".

"And Ashling, with Aiden." she pointed towards the orange haired girl with blonde streaks and sea-blue eyes ("Ash is fine.") followed by her brown, shaggy furred dog.

"And this," Mira said, introducing the others to them, "is Mikhaael," who inclined his head slightly.

"Lily." who stood straight and stared, still sulking and uncomfortable, but refused to back down in the presence of so many older people. Why, if they were back on her estate, they would not be in the same room as each other. In fact, they would most likely stay outside. And her nose had _still_ not grown used to the smell of fish that was lingering near the docks.

"and uh, Thao, I believe." She finished.

Taking the change in stride, the two women murmured pleasantries such as the usual 'Nice to meet you', 'and you also' to each other. After giving them a couple seconds, Mira acted as a go-between once again.

"Marieke is here as a part of the Galley-La Company. She's quite skilled at her work, so usually she would stay on Water 7 and work on ships, but this year she's here mentoring Ashling, who's a temporary member."

Ashling smiled. "I'm not looking to settle down, but I'm quite good with tools and such, so I'm working at Galley-La for awhile until I can save up enough to travel again."

"Since they have graciously decided to hear you guys out, we're gonna take my boat and pull over to the section of the port reserved for the Galley-La people. That way, we can go somewhere else that's preferably inside the city, and maybe talk over what we're going to do." At their nods, Mira jumped back in her boat. "I would tell you guys to walk with Kiko and Ash to see the sights, but I'm assuming you want to stay with your luggage?" she addressed Mik, who nodded.

"I'm going with Mik," Lily announced to no one in particular, and stepped in the boat as well.

"Then me and Ash are going to walk to the port and wave you guys in." Kiko said, already starting to walk. Thao followed them, obviously having nothing else to do. From a distance, Lily could see the two girls talking to Thao, then made a slight shift so that he could walk in between them. Whatever he had said, obviously worked for the moment.

A tugging at her feet startled her. The Chihuahua from earlier was in the boat and looking up at her with large dark eyes. "What are you doing here?" Lily asked him. It whimpered.

Lily was never one for tiny dogs, but she sighed and relented. "Come here." She bent her legs and opened her arms, to which the puppy happily jumped into.

[***]

"Oh, I see it," Mira called, spotting the same oars and boat symbol that was present on Kiko's shirt. Steering towards the mass of the different ships that was the Galley-La display boats, to entice possible customers, she kept rowing until she saw a group of slightly less decorative boats, signaling the personal boats of the company. She could spot Ashling's bright hair and steered the boat towards an empty slot. Kiko caught sight of the watch man on guard walking over, and waved him away. "No Hewitt, it's okay. They're with us." He nodded and went back to reading his "newspaper".

"Why are you still here?" Mira asked Thao.

"Eh," he shrugged. "My shipment of chemicals is late, so I've got nothing better to do for the next 3 hours. Might as well join in on the first interesting things I've seen the whole day. Otherwise, I might just start a fight in the bar for the hell of it." he said nonchalantly.

Still confused but apparently satisfied at his answer, addressed Mik. "We're walking towards the center of the city, so Kiko and Ash and listen to your story and think of the best way to help us."

"Why are we going there? Can't we just talk here?" Lily asked.

Mira looked at her sympathetically. "Well, I assumed it would be best, as the smell of fish isn't as prominent there. But if you don't mind the smell, we can stay out here and ta-"

"No! It's okay. I supposed it's for the best, after all, even though you're making me walk." Lily hurriedly interrupted. _Thank god we're outta there._

Mira gave a solemn nod and continued walking.

Along the way, Mik explained his situation to the others, while Lily lagged behind and stared. As they entered the entrance to the city, however, she stopped and gaped at the sheer amount of color and people.

She had always grown up in a hazy, pastel colored world of quiet and peace and elegance and control. She had lived like a doll, she realized. THIS was life. Sheer, pounding life and color. The center of the town was low, so that standing at the entrance to the city was like standing on a hill, where one could observe everything that was going on below. And there was a LOT going on below. If she thought the docks were busy, she was wrong. Merchant stands and stalls stood along sides of walls, with colorful merchandise sparkling and glittering in the sunlight. People were dressed from different places on the ocean, so the difference in fabrics and styles were apparent. It clashed, but it clashed so _right_. And the _noise_. People had to shout to be heard from across each other, merchants were yelling about their wares, enticing people to come over and take a look, flyers were everywhere, litter was so prominent that it was difficult to walk without stepping on some form of wanted poster or marine notice or newspaper. The colors she saw were bold and flashy. Trying to navigate through a crowd was just asking to be pummeled by bony elbows, canes, and bags of goods. Children ran and shrieked with happiness around the legs of adults and the fountain in the middle of the town was _so _beautiful. The water was clear and sparkled with a crystalline light that refracted onto the walls and the stands and the ground and the small pieces of metal or coin that people had thrown in the water added to the reflected light, making it sparkle and glitter and clear and pure and _oh!_

This place wasn't just the washed out, staged world she had grown up in. It was vibrant, lively, noisy, lovely. It was so _real_ that it made Lily's eyes hurt and senses tingle with the _realness_ of the world. It was different from what she felt, living sheltered and protected at home. This place suddenly made her feel _alive_. For the first time, she could feel every fiber of her being, pulsing, responding to the senses that assaulted her.

Mik glanced behind him when he realized that Lily was no longer following him as closely. He smiled at what he saw.

Her blue eyes were wide, as if they were trying to drink in every inch of the city. He tried not to laugh at her open-mouthed expression, face wide and gaping, at a loss for words. But it wasn't a loss of words for outrage. It was a 'it's-so-beautiful-I-can't-believe-it shock. He was glad she was so amazed.

The others had picked up on it as well. They did not outright stare, but the telltale glances and small smirks were more than enough to prove him right. It must be funny, he realized, to see a young woman be so amazed at something that they themselves were quite used to.

It was adorable really, Mira though to herself. She had no idea what the others thought, but she herself thought it was sweet, and a nice change from Lily's usual haughty, sulking demeanor.

Omake:

Mik: so, my name isn't really pronounced Michael, it's some awkward version of it?

Me: I made you up in ten seconds, remember? Be quiet and accept your exotically named fate.

Mik: *returns to emo corner*

Lily: *sniggers*

Madame Bloom: Lily! Ladies do not snigger!

L: Oh shoot mother! When did you get here?

MB: two days without me and look at your language! It hurts your poor mother's heart.

L: You sent me off, with a halfa**ed transport crew and a teary goodbye! And NOW I have to wear a burlap sack! I'm allergic to fish!

MB: I got an Oscar for those tears, darling. They were well worth it. Now smile to the camera!

L: What the hell is an Oscar?

Omake 2:

Mira: I'm pretty sure you just confused everyone as to what I'm wearing. Now they think it's a kimono or something.

Me: I did my best TT I wasn't sure how to explain it. And anyway, no one cares what you're wearing because you're a joint OC between me and someone else, which means no one reading the story knows or cares about you.

Mira: You're a terrible creator *joins Mik in the emo corner*

Me: Honestly! Ungrateful for bringing them into the world…tsktsktsk. Oh and as for everyone else: yeah I did my best explaining the outfits. Basically I search up like the clothes and put them together in a collage so I could picture the outfit better, and then I tried to describe the outfits as I saw them. LOL so I have a word document full of pictures of clothing and my sister came into the room and she thought I was suddenly into fashion or something and-

L: Shut UP! No one cares!

Me: TT okay….

Thao: Yeah, how come you had to write that in already?

Me: What, that Thao was a girl's name?

T: *joins Mik and Mira in the emo corner*

Me: …we're gonna need a bigger corner.

**Edit: I split the chapter into two, because I looked it over…and it was quite long. -_- So since I'm OCD I had to change that. Nothing has changed, there's just more chapters. LOL. **


	4. Chapter 2b: When overcoming

**I split the REALLY LONG chapter 2 into 2a and 2b. :) Hopefully now it's not as obnoxious, haha. Ch.4 is coming maybe on Wednesday? LOL**

They soon reached a small café, located not in the center of the town, but in a little alcove off to the side, where business was moderate and the sound was much quieter. No longer did they have to yell to be heard. The lady welcomed them inside with a kind smile and when told that they just wanted a small area to talk, she led them over to side booth, large enough to hold all 6 people. The others ordered water (well, Lily would've ordered tea had her head still not been reeling from the sights), while Thao ordered a whiskey, to which Kiko shook her head and shot him a dirty glance. Along the way, the situation had been explained and talked over.

"At the very least, we can provide you with a ship," Ash said, turning to Kiko. "Right?"

Kiko looked a bit uncomfortable. "Well, the thing is, it's hard to just ask for a boat and get a high quality one for a cheap price, even when you put the goal down as 'shipping valuable cargo'. And especially as I'm one of the foremen- It may reflect badly on me and my Dock." she explained.

"Well, we need a boat. Mine, thought sufficiently large for me alone to use, isn't really strong enough, big enough, or safe enough, really, you know I'm not a close-range fighter, to sail in, especially," Mira pulled out a map and pointed to Mercor Island, in the East Blue, "if we're trying to get from here," she trailed her finger a considerable distance to the left. "To our destination, which is all the way over _here_, in West Blue."

"How did they get to Spring Island in the first place then?" Thao asked curiously.

To their surprise, Lily was the one who responded. Pointing to the map, she traced the path. "The Rains tend to marry into high-ranking Marine families. With their credentials, they went straight over the path in Reverse Mountain, reserved for those of highest rank only."

He pointed out the obvious solution. "Then why don't you just go over it was well?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, well the Rains gave us some papers and credentials, signifying that we were related and all that. However," she scowled. "It was handed over to the captain of the ship, and as they're all captured…" she let her sentence trail off.

"You have no way of proving that you are Lily Bloom." Ash finished. Lily sighed and nodded crossly.

"And that means we have to go all the way around." Mira continued. "There's no way my boat can sustain that kind of travel, and with just the three of us, that's just asking to be captured and sold into slavery. You know how big the slave industry is now, with the sudden population boom in Mariejoa." she finished.

Seeing that the two girls still looked wary, she upped the pressure, addressing the younger girl. "Come on Ash, aren't you always complaining that you want adventure? Even if it's not much, isn't it still better than working at Galley-La for months just to save up enough to travel to one or two islands? At least this way you still get to travel- and for virtually free."

"Actually, you'd probably even _get_ paid for bringing me there. The Rains are _very_ wealthy, after all. Then you can travel all you want." Lily dealt the finishing blow.

Kiko saw Ash's face change. "No. Oh no." She pulled Ash out of the booth and dragged her further away. "Sorry, excuse us for a minute."

The two went across the room and whispered unintelligible things to each other. Had they been closer, they would have heard this conversation.

"You aren't _seriously_ thinking about doing it, are you?"

"Why not?"

"Leaving Galley-La? To go off on some transport mission?"

"Yeah! What about it?"

"What about the risk, Ash? What about getting killed or something?"

"_What_ about the risk? That's part of the adventure! And we deal with fussy customers and pirates who don't like to pay up _all the time_. How is dealing with them on the sea any different? I might even get to be the good guy for once," she giggled.

"Why would you leave Galley-La for that?"

"For the _adventure_, Kiko! Don't tell me you've forgotten your own desire for adventure. Has being with Galley-La so long made you dull and boring? What happened to the girl who loved the feel of wind in her hair and fixing ships and fighting people and seeing new things? What happened to 'live without regrets?'"

"I'm still me, Ash!"

"No you aren't, not if you're protesting so much."

"Look, I worked hard to get to the position of foreman. Do you know how much prejudice I had to go through to get here because I was a woman-"

"I know, and I'm not putting it down or anything. But you'll still have a position when you get back, and think about it, Kiko. Do you _really_, really deep down, want to spend the rest of your life at Galley-La? You yourself said you never went anywhere because of your childhood. This could be your chance."

Ash could see her bending. "I have traveled though. I haven't just spent my whole life here." Kiko said crossly.

Ash stopped herself from rolling her eyes-just barely. "And how did that end up? You barely went anywhere before you came back, for SOME reason or other."

Seeing Kiko's face darken and close up, she hurriedly repaired. "Look, I'm not asking you to have to go through that again. I'm just asking you to take this chance. It's literally like they're paying you to travel, have your adventure that you never got to have."

"Who knows, you might even find that Prince Charming of yours on the sea." Ash teased, seeing her friends blush. The romance novels that she kept "for a friend" had not escaped her notice. She knew that way, deep down in her endless well of a heart, her friend wanted some drama of her own. Just a little. Not so much that it became obnoxious.

Kiko didn't even have to nod. She just sighed and followed Ash back to the booth.

[***]

Waiting for the two to come back, Mira stirred the ice in her water-she had drunk it all, a naturally thirsty person- with a straw and stared at Thao. "So what are you planning to do?"

He took a big gulp of his alcohol and stirred the remaining liquid in his mug (with wrist movements, not a straw) thoughtfully. "I dunno. I didn't think much beyond getting my stuff and getting off this island. Say," he spoke to Lily. "how much d'ya think your soon-to-be relatives might give for bringing you there?"

"Who knows?" she replied nonchalantly. "The Rains are _very_ rich. Let's say…300,000 beli, give or take a couple ten thousands, and in what condition you get me back in."

His eyes widened slightly as he sipped his drink.

Lily smirked. "That is a lot of money, don't you think? It might be enough for you to start a lab of your own…"

She could see his eyes glaze as he thought about it. It quickly snapped back, as alert as ever, before giving Lily a quicksilver grin, which for him, was as good as a handshake and a contract.

Still waiting on the others, Thao took another swig of his drink and asked Mira this time. "So how do you know the other two?" he inquired.

"I traveled together with Ashling once- we only went as far as two islands, but we learned each other's fighting styles. We actually work together quite well." she quirked a grin. "Maybe you'll get to see."

He smirked too. "Maybe I will."

"I hope not," Mik spoke gravely. The subtle humor caused all three to chuckle.

"Okay," Ashling said as she slid back in the seat and finished off her water. "We're coming with you."

"But about the boat problem…? Mira pressed gently.

Kiko waved a hand. "It's different if one of Galley-La's foremen is actually on the ship, because at least they've known us for a long time and what kind of people we are. I'm sure they'll lend me one if I ask and tell them I'm going to be using it."

"Right then," Thao drank the remaining alcohol in his mug and set it down. "We can't leave until I get my shipment in an hour. How about we get our things together and meet up at your Galley-La place to leave?"

"Who said you were coming?" Kiko asked brusquely.

Fearing a confrontation before the travel even started, Mira held out her hand pleadingly as she rose from her seat, seeing the others do likewise. "Look, he's coming with us, and he might be useful. How about we split into, say three groups? Kiko can go 'borrow' the ship, Ash can help Mik and Lily grab their stuff and bring it to the ship, and Thao and I will go get his things and I'll see what supplies I can pick up along the way. Shall we meet up at the ship at 8?" She rattled off.

They nodded assent and separated.

[***]

It was late at night and Kuron Rekka shook her head once again in disbelief. 10,000 beli just for a trip to Loguetown? Heck, she could probably _swim_ there, it was so close! This was a highway robbery! She would've called for a sea animal of some sort, but none were in the area that she could tame with her devil fruit. Strange. There usually were a few dolphins or whales that were in the area and willing to help, but there were none today.

_Oh well_, she though, writing it off to bad luck. And anyway, she _was _carrying some merchandise that she would rather not get wet.

The fact that she needed to get off the island quickly may or may not have had anything to do with said merchandise.

But the fact remained that by now someone would have noticed the missing object, and called for security who were roaming around looking for it now.

She scanned the dock timetables. There were no public ships that were leaving right now that were cheap enough for her to pay for. _Maybe I should smuggle onboard as a stowaway?_ She had done it before, although the ride was not comfortable at all.

She looked around for another option.

"Why the hell is this so damn heavy?" she heard a girl hiss from her left. She looked over to see a black haired girl straining to push a cart loaded with crates marked with a 'CAUTION: EXPLOSIVES'. By her side, effortlessly pushing his own, similarly stacked cart, was a very tall man with a large bazooka strapped to his back. "Why are you so weak?" he asked.

"Because," she panted. "one: I have been lugging this around ALL DAY. Secondly, obviously all my power is being channeled to my brain. Anyway, my fighting style doesn't require much strength, just manual dexterity."

"Then I guess I'm just special, since I have both brain and brawn." he said smugly.

She made a 'pfft' noise, blowing the strands of loose hair from the front of her face. "I bet I'm smarter than you are. I probably possess more self-control too, since you've nearly gotten into -how many fights?- in the, what, 7 hours we've been here?"

"_You_ have to have control though, don't you? Since you don't have enough strength to hold your own in a fight."

Mira stopped -as did he- and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "I can definitely hold my own in a fight. And anyway," she resumed the pace while throwing a smirk over her shoulder. "Isn't Thao a _girl_ name?"

She laughed at his incredulous expression before his cheeks flushed red and he ran to catch up. "Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I distinctly remember the heroine of a story named Thao. I think she was trying to find her father. You should read it sometime. Could be enlightening." Rekka could hear her laugh.

Rekka could hear the man splutter in frustration and anger. She laughed a little to herself and would have not paid them a second glance if she had not caught the next words that spilled out of the girl's mouth.

"So where's that ship Kiko said she would get us? We should have been there an hour ago!"

"Well we _would_ if you weren't so insistent on buying those industrial strength fake nails! Which we wouldn't need if you didn't _bite_ your nails in the _first _place."

"I need long nails to fight! It's not my fault I have a horrid bad habit. And anyway, what about you? We spent at _least_ three-quarters of an hour at that stupid alchemy-merchant's tent! And then you nearly got into _another _fight! With _the merchant!_ Do you really want to get locked up for disorderly conduct?"

"I'd like to see them try!..."

_A ship?_ Rekka wondered, drowning out the other fragments of the conversation. _They have a ship, and they're looking for it, which means its privately owned. Maybe by them? Maybe they would let me hitch a ride? _

_Please don't be pirates please don't be pirates please don't be pirates or oh no- slave traders or something… _the thought pulsed in her head as she ran to catch up with them. She ran to beside the girl and smiled her most winning smile. "Hi! My name is Rekka. Kuron Rekka. I couldn't help overhearing your earlier conversation- please allow me to help you." She reached over and grabbed the cart. Stunned into letting go, Mira let her take the cart and she began walking, taking a few seconds to quickly observing the newcomer.

She had very wavy dark hair with a red tint. Her eyes were a golden hazel color, set in a dark-skinned face with delicate features. Her ears were pierced and upon them hung large gold earrings. She seemed to be fond of gold, dangly jewelry, as they were everywhere on her body. Necklace, bangles, and belt. She was, Mira noted again sullenly, once again taller than herself but not by too much. Her body was very slender and her outfit consisted of a top and a skirt, with the midriff left bare. Her top was off the shoulders, with the shirt itself black, but the sheer sleeves were a dark purple. Thin gold edging and other small dangly accessories outlined the top of the shirt. The skirt was a black, with a dark purple sheer material covering over it. The belt that hung on her hips was gold, designed in a triangular fishnet pattern. On her feet she wore simple tan sandals. The golden jewelry on her body shined and reflected the shop-lights, the torches, and dock lights that glowed in the night.

"What's your name?" Rekka asked the other girl.

"Ah, my name's Mira." After raising an eyebrow inquiringly towards the other companion, he answered. "Thao."

Rekka nodded and kept walking. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Mira broke it, saying, "Um, is there a reason you're helping us? Rather than being a good Samaritan, of course..?"

Rekka thought about the best way to proceed. After a few milliseconds of deliberation, she decided to just go and ask. They didn't look like the type to be fooled by sweet words and nice talk.

"Well," she flipped her hair back. "I couldn't help hearing that you guys have a ship. And I was just wondering if I could…"

"Hitch a ride?" Thao finished for her.

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

Mira turned to Thao as he turned to her, the two having a silent conversation. "Ask the captain." he ended up saying.

Rekka's eye's widened at this information. "Wait, you're pirates?"

"No!" Mira said quickly and firmly. "We are NOT pirates. We're just bodyguards. We don't have a captain or anything, so I guess you can come with us and see if the others object to you coming. Where are you traveling, by the way?"

Rekka let out a breath of relief that they weren't pirates, off to capture her or something. "I'm just heading to Loguetown."

At her face's sudden fall, Rekka became worried. "Oh, are you not going that way?"

"No no, we are. But ah, I had uh, hoped to avoid Loguetown." Mira stammered awkwardly.

"Oh." Rekka looked crestfallen. "Is there a reason why?"

"Oh- no, not really. I suppose we can go stop there." Mira repaired quickly.

Rekka beamed- yes! "Thank you so much! I owe you guys one. I can join your pirate crew bodyguard expedition, if you guys want, as soon as I'm finished with my business in Loguetown."

"We are NOT pirates, and sure, if you don't have anything else you need to do. We could use some more help."

"You're not running from anything, are you?" Thao asked offhandedly.

Rekka blinked. The man was surprisingly perceptive when he was serious, she realized.

She put on her most honest smile and said, "No. I'm running towards something."

Thao looked at her oddly, but let it go.

Mira coughed, breaking the silence once again. "Can either of you guys see the Galley-La docks?"

"No," Rekka replied. "But there's an orange-haired girl waving at us. Could that be one of us?"

[***]

It had been a good day, Ash decided. Kiko had placed a call to the President of the Galley-La company, one of Iceburg's descendants whose personality closely mirrored his ancestor, and had successfully secured a ship for their use, with him making Kiko promise to come back, with or without the ship. Kiko had smiled and gently gave her word that she would, that it wasn't going to take that long to bring a little girl to and fro from her relatives. The two had exchanged some more parting words, and ended the call. Ash had long suspected more than friendly feelings between the two, but she never said a word, preferring to keep her body parts exactly where they were.

She quite liked her face as it was.

The ship they were borrowing was one of their "display" ships. It was a medium sized model, with one bedroom (that could and did hold multiple beds), and a large crew's sleeping quarters, with bunk beds, layered three high, and space to string a hammock if they preferred. There were all the living necessities, such as restrooms and kitchens. The captains study contained a desk and a wall with a large map of the world. The ship had two top decks. The lower desk was larger, taking up about a third of the space in the front half of the ship. The upper deck was considerably smaller in the back of the ship, with stairs connecting the two.

Because the majority of the people were, indeed female, it was given that they would inhabit the crew's quarters. The lone bedroom's original purpose was to hold sick and injured, or let the captain of the ship sleep there, but Lily steadfastly refused to share a room with the others and all but demanded that she sleep in the bedroom, which was also the only one with a closet large enough to house her remaining clothing. However, they did not know what to do with the two men. Eventually, they pulled a set of beds from the crew's quarters and pushed it into a smaller, but still reasonably spacious room that was large enough to house the two. It seemed that it was originally built for a workshop of some sort, but it doubled as a second bedroom well enough.

Mik was nice, she thought. He was quiet and helpful, and rarely spoke, only to help explain things as briefly as he could when she was confused about something or other. He kept to himself, but he never stopped keeping an eye on Lily.

Speaking of Lily.

Dear god, Ash was about to pull her hair out. The girl was driving both her and Kiko nuts. In fact, Kiko had refused to speak to Lily altogether after the fifteenth time she had demanded that they wash her clothes _again_ because they still smelled like seawater. Well _obviously_ it would smell like seawater- they were on the goddamn sea! And her clothes had been soaked and nearly charred. Of course it would smell like that! Kiko was so incensed she had nearly made a move to hurt the girl- before Mik stepped in smoothly and took the clothes from her and said quietly, "It's no problem. I'll wash it." at which Kiko glared at him, shoved the clothes at him, and stormed off to punch something or to carve something. Carving calmed Kiko down. Ash just smiled and took the clothes from Mik and washed them herself, as Mik started to look lost at the many buttons and knobs. She felt bad for the man, but she didn't understand him. Why put up with such a little brat? Actually, not that little, she thought. Lily was 19 to Ash's 17. But at least Ash had seen more things, traveled more, knew more of the world. Actually, to the best of her knowledge, it seemed that Thao was the oldest one, then Mik, then Kiko. A year younger was Mira, then Lily, then Ash. There was quite an age range. Thao, the oldest, was nearly double Ash's age.

But oh well, she thought. Back to wondering about Lily and Mik. The man was really duty-driven, maybe? Perhaps they were relatives? That was the only plausible reason she could think of. Kiko hated rich snobs like Lily. Ash disliked them too, but she was younger than Lily and anyway, she sort of felt bad for the girl, who had to marry someone she had never met. This seemed to be the norm among the higher-classed people, but Ash wouldn't know.

She had never been nearly that rich in her life, ever. She closed her eyes as she thought about winters with little food. She always had something to eat, even if sometimes her older siblings starved. She had never gotten along well with her older sisters, but they always let her have more, saying that didn't need it, that they were watching their figure. Her older brothers, whom she got along with better, always tried to give her something. But they needed to eat, to keep up energy to find food the next day, so they could never afford to give as much as her sisters. She remembered being cold, even though the fire was warm. But at night, when the fire was not lit, they shivered in their threadbare clothing.

Being poor kinda sucked. She and Lily, though only 2 years apart in age, were worlds apart in their past.

She sighed and got up, intending to look for Mira and Thao. She had been waiting there for an hour. Where were they? They were late.

She cursed her luck that night had fallen so early and that Mira and Thao both wore dark colors, and had dark hair. In fact, she would have never caught them if she hadn't been so distracted by the girl with all the gold jewelry walking next to them, pushing a cart stacked with crates. Walking next to her was the silhouette of a much shorter girl. The light glinted off the silver stick stuck in her hair. Beside the short figure was a very tall person, also pushing a cart. The ends of his hair glowed blonde.

That was them. She lifted her arms and waved them over.

[***]

Lily sat in a puddle of fabric. Her mind worked furiously to account the losses. She currently had nearly all her gold and jewels, but unfortunately, had lost more than half of her clothing. What she had now was about a quarter of what she had started with. She had been allowed to take a bath- _finally_- and change into something more befitting her status, but most of her clothes were waterlogged with seawater and goodness knows what else and required extra washing. She had chosen one of the more dry pieces of clothing, which was a plain light blue dress with a little ruffle along the neckline and ends, and settled down to inventory her things. She supposed she should be happy that she hadn't lost more, but come on.

Thao and Mira had returned, with another strange, exotic looking female. Lily didn't like having so many women on the ship. She had never felt threatened before, and she didn't like it. She didn't like Mira's calm partnership with Mik, she didn't like the easy way Kiko got along with him, and she didn't like the way Ash smiled at him.

Lily didn't like sharing her things. At all.

So with this much sudden femininity, she couldn't help but feel annoyed at Mik showing others the politeness and care he had usually shown only her. Even now, he was off somewhere, leaving her all alone in this empty bedroom -well, not entirely empty, the Chihuahua was still here, she hadn't decided what to do with it-to sulk and wallow in self-pity and doubt. Kiko was really tall and confident after all. Ashling was quite curvy and had such beautiful hair. The newcomer was darkly exotic and so slender and tall, almost a polar opposite to Lily who was petite and short and pale, like a doll. Lily didn't mind Mira as much. After all, the girl had saved them. And most importantly, no one could see her curves -if she even had any, which Lily doubted- under that shapeless, flowy black top of hers. She didn't seem like a threat.

She sighed and began hanging her own clothes. She supposed she had better get used to doing this kind of stuff on her own, unless they wanted to stop to buy a maid somewhere. Because she could bet every last beli she owned that no one on the ship but Mik would do it for her.

[***]

Most everyone took to Rekka's coming with indifference. Kiko stared a bit disapprovingly at her revealing clothing and exposed midriff, but let it go.

After a little deliberation (that literally consisted of, "So who can cook?" and seeing Kiko, Ashling and Mira look in different directions and whistle), it was decided that Rekka could stay as long as she wanted to. They pestered Thao to help, because "Alchemy is sorta like cooking, right?" but he flat out refused, assuring everyone with a sneeze and an "I'll cook if we begin starving."

As most everyone had gotten dinner already, Rekka didn't make dinner. They stocked up the fridge for enough until they got to Loguetown, which was literally the next day. The two islands were again_, very _close.

Mira and Kiko went to move her smaller, private ship to inside the larger ship, in the rowboat storage room in the bottom of the hold.

Thao was giddy with joy, as he found could use the long counter and sink in the workshop-turned-guy's room as a space for chemical experiments. Mik paled slightly at his roommate's almost manic joy, anyone sane would really, who _wanted_ to get blown up by an accident in the middle of the night? but shrugged and laid on his top bunk, closing his eyes for a quick rest.

A short while later, they all met downstairs for a quick meeting about the schedule for the night and for the next day. "So who's first watch?" Rekka asked, impatient to get moving. Again, which may or may not have had something to do with previously said valuable merchandise.

"Ah- I'm not sure. Who got the most sleep last night?" Mira asked jokingly.

"Yeah, I'll take first watch. I'm not that tired." Thao offered.

Surprised at Thao's volunteering, nevertheless she nodded in acknowledgement.

"By the way, where's Mik?" she asked.

They looked around and sure enough, the tall, constant presence was not there. Lily felt a slight twinge of worry. Where was he? Thao returned to his room and came back. "He's sleeping like the dead. Shall I wake him up?" Mira shook her head.

"We'll let the man sleep," she said quietly. "I don't think he slept the entire night before, looking out for Lily and for possible attack. At least I got a few hours of rest. He got none. Just let him rest for the night." She shot a look at Thao. "Be quiet when you're getting into bed after first watch." He gave her a lazy salute before heading off, cigarillo in mouth.

It was decided that they would begin sailing tonight, so as to reach Loguetown in early noon. Thao would have first watch, and then be replaced by Ash, then Kiko, then Mira, then Rekka, who would then also make breakfast. It was an unspoken decision that Lily would not take any shifts, and Thao could take a longer shift to let Mik sleep, just for tonight.

The impromptu meeting adjourned, and the people ambled off to their respective sleeping quarters.

They were off.

**I don't know if you can tell but I was having trouble with the time in the chapter. LOL in the original version, I was reading through and I realized that I jumped from like early morning to night…which means they were like wandering around for a LONG time. So I had to add a bunch of details, but I think I just made it worse. So dawn for me is around 4-5:30-ish, but the sun rises at about 6. so assume that at the time Mira found them to be like 6 AM. Then they traveled for like 3-4 hours, so they reached Mercor at around 9-10 AM. (Fun fact: Mercor is Latin for meeting, reward, recompense. Eh? Eh? Aren't I brilliant~~ *hides from thrown food*) Then Lily says that they wait for roughly quarter of an hour, so fifteen minutes. Then Thao says that it's actually been roughly 20. So at 10:20 AM Mira comes back with Ash and Kiko. Assuming introductions take ten minutes, and then rowing the boat and docking it takes ten, that's another twenty minutes. THEN they walk to the café, which is ten minutes (I like going by tens, see). Then they talk for twenty minutes, more or less. Then they split. By this time it's 11:10 AM. (Still early morning.) So then they split, Mira and Thao have to wait at least another hour before Thao can pick up his supplies, so by that time it's maybe 2 PM. Then we assumed they hang out for like 7 hours ^^ Then when Rekka meets them, its nearly 9 PM, so night has pretty much fallen. They leave the dock at like 10. And remember that Mik hasn't gotten ANY sleep since…The night before Lily left. Because he was helping the captain with navigation and whatnot, then the pirates attacked, and then he stayed awake for the ENTIRE night, unlike Mira, who dozed for about 2 hours before she met them, even thought she was trying to stay awake because she was expecting to sleep at a tavern or something. So those two got the least sleep out of all of them. **

**And to those of you who are like "PSH I pull all-nighters ALL DA TIME" well…you've never pulled an all-nighter while trying to protect a lot of precious things, floating in the middle of the ocean on nothing more than ash and wood glue, liable to capsize of float away at any moment, if not being attacked by pirates or something. Its quite stressful. XD its not about being awake, its about being hyper vigilant for an overextended period of time. **

**Let's see..what else to say? Oh yes: about romance: I tried to plant mini-seeds in this chapter LOL. BUT. Again, I can't write romance if I came and slapped me in the face, lol. If you see someone you like and you're willing to risk me writing it TT PM me and I'll see what I can do. Don't be shy ^^ eheeheeheeeheehe**

**AmIbeingcreepyokayI'llstopnow.**


	5. Chapter 3: The challenge, the pace

**TT Hi guys…so it was so long I had to split it in half. Reading over it (and especially the next chapter) I think I might have sped it up a tiiinnyyy bit…but I'm kinda under some pressure to churn characters out..and plotlines…don't wanna neglect the other characters right XD and anyway on the sea life moves fast. Slow down a bit and they'll leave you behind. **

**A note about reviews: I LOVE THEM. I GOBBLE THEM UP LIKE A STARVING (wo)MAN, HOWEVER CLICHÉ THAT SOUNDS. But in all seriousness…I am so happy whenever you review. I didn't even realize it felt so good to be connected to a person (however briefly). The other day I was so depressed. I had gotten into a fight with my mom, I failed an exam, I had a huge huge blowup with one of my friends and then my other friend took HER side and - yes I was just extremely upset. I'm kind of glad there wasn't any harsh criticism when I checked (even though I will welcome any! I'm not three and I don't need to be coddled if I'm doing something wrong ^^) or else I might have just started crying. But then I checked it and everyone was so nice TT and I started crying anyway. LOL I dunno. I might be making a big deal out of this- I'm sure you other accomplished writers get a bajillion reviews a day. But no one has ever like..liked my stuff before. **

**Okay this is getting long. Enjoy Ch3 (technically ch3 part 1) ^^**

* * *

A lone figure ambled along a rural road heading into Loguetown. It wore a long black cloak that hid his face and tall figure. Around his face was a cloth edging of dark blue, but the face itself was hid in shadow.

It stopped as it sensed something on the wind. A split second later, out from the bushes burst a pack of bandits.

The leader brandished his saber and twirled it around. "Well well well, what have we here?"

"A traveler, who wishes to pass." he said softly.

Bandit Bob leered at him. "Pass you will," he aimed the sword at the traveler's neck, "but not before you hand me all you money!"

**( A/N: I like writing the lines of an illiterate person bandit/pirate, because I can misspell stuff and make grammatical errors to my hearts content, and I can blame it on the character)**

The other bandits grinned evilly as they looked at their new prey.

Yet the man didn't make any move to relieve himself of his worldly goods. "I don't think so."

Bandit Bob's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? I musta not heard correct, 'cause I think you just said you didn't think so."

"That is correct." the stranger answered smoothly.

The thieves looked at each other in shock. Then they burst out into laughter. "Did you hear that?" Bob howled. "He thinks he can just screw all the rules, don't ya?"

"Yes, I can." he raised his head so that his eyes shone from underneath the hood. One red, one black. This, coupled with his cold voice and icy demeanor, caused the bandits to stop laughing. Bandit Bob became serious and raised his saber and pointed it at the stranger's chest. "Okay, enough of the cool guy act. Drop the hood and hand over your money."

They saw him smile and drop his hood, as requested. "As you wish."

The cloak unfurling in the wind at his retreating back and his spindly, pale hands pushing his hood back over his black, shaggy hair, was the last they saw before sinking into unconsciousness.

**[***]**

Kiko woke and yawned at the early morning light.

Well, not early morning, she supposed, looking at her clock. It was nearly 10. They should reach Loguetown in about an hour, she estimated.

She slowly got dressed, which still only took probably 10 minutes, seeing as she just had to change her t-shirt and pull on capris and boots. It was pulling all her long brown hair into the ponytail that took a while. She liked pulling it in a side ponytail because hey, all you need to do is push all the hair to the side and wrap it up with a rubber band. Quick fix.

She glanced into the mirror as she left and patted a few unruly strands into place. Kiko wasn't a particularly vain or prideful woman, and couldn't care less how she looked. But there was a difference between being presentable and being a peacock. Besides, her hair was something she was very proud of. Straight down, it hung mid-back. Did they have any idea how hard it was to keep healthy hair that long?

She headed outside, sparing a second to admire the clear skies and picturesque setting of ocean, before making a beeline to the kitchen.

Rekka greeted her as she stepped into the kitchen, where Ash, and surprisingly, Mik, were already eating. They nodded a good morning to her, which she returned and sat. Rekka placed a plate full of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her. "Sorry, it was all I could muster together. I wasn't sure what any of you guys liked, so I just opted for the usual and hoped for the best."

Kiko nodded, a neutral, "It's fine." Rekka seemed pleased with that answer and returned to the stove.

Thao was the next to arrive. Yawning and disgruntled, he was apparently not a morning person. He plopped down on an empty seat and lit a cigarette. None felt the need to make much talk, so the breakfast was spent in content silence.

Ash looked at the wall clock and said aloud to no one in particular, "It's almost 11. Should we wake Mira or Lily up?"

"I'm not surprised about Lily, but I am surprised that Mira wouldn't be up earlier. She seems like such a punctual person." Kiko mused.

Ash chuckled. "She's not…really a morning person either. She nearly missed our stop when we were traveling together because she overslept. I'll go wake her up." she called, heading towards the stairs, Aiden in tow.

Mik stood up. "Forgive me for sleeping so soundly last night, and thank you for taking my shift," he told Thao, who waved it off blearily.

Mik headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the deck as well. "I will wake Lily. I do not think she would take well to any other waking her."

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Kiko muttered. Kiko wasn't a mean person, but rich, snobbish women who thought they were _so _perfect and could do anything because they were wealthy just rubbed her the wrong way. She just couldn't understand why they felt they were better than everyone else. Underneath they were all the same people. Why couldn't they just drop off their pedestal and treat others like they _weren't_ brain dead. Nothing made her ever as angry as when rich folk would commission a ship to be built, but talk to them all as if they couldn't understand a word. Kiko had nearly rammed her hammer into a particularly pompous _asshole_ who had talked to her as if she was deaf, saying his words exaggeratingly loud and slow. It had made her blood boil. Just because shipwrights spoke coarsely, and yes, most of them had never finished their schooling- but then who did nowadays?- most of them did know how to communicate with others. She was _perfectly_ capable of normal human speech, _thank you very much_. It had taken three shipbuilders and the President himself to hold her back from giving the guy a black eye….and maybe a cracked skull.

He would have deserved it too. He ended up shirking on his payment. They had had to travel to his mansion to personally _ask _(read: threaten) for the rest of the money.

Besides Lily, Mik was okay. Sure, Kiko was confused on why he was so protective and caring of the girl-like every other person on the ship, probably- but Mik himself was a nice guy. A little too quiet for her, perhaps, and very serious. His talking was very brief, his personality reserved. In that way, she thought, Mira and Mik were alike. But where Mik never really spoke, Mira spoke, yet still seemed guarded somehow. In fact, Kiko thought, everyone on the ship seemed to have something to hide, something guarded about their personalities. Even Ashling, who was so free and expressive and young, would clam up when asked about certain things.

Like that tattoo on her lower back, that she tried so hard to hide. But Kiko had sharper eyes than she let on. When asked about it, Ash would close up and run away, physically or emotionally.

Kuron Rekka. Kiko didn't really know her. The fact that she wore clothing that was so sheer and impractical irritated Kiko somewhat- at the shipyard it would never be allowed. It would distract the workers, who would ogle the woman, and then they would be careless about their work, which would end up with them either not getting their work done or they would end up overlooking something and creating shoddy workmanship, or hurting themselves. But she supposed here on the ocean it was okay.. Other than that, Kiko didn't really know the woman. Oh, and she was also the only person that could cook, the exception being perhaps Thao, who refused to cook, so Kiko guessed that was okay too.

Speaking of Thao. He was..interesting. She wondered what his motive was for coming along. The adventure as well? Or the money, perhaps.

She had never really met an alchemist before. Shipbuilders never really had much need for exploding objects or flashy things in their ship-making. He seemed gruff, but not ruthless. From what Mira told her of the day before, he quite liked to fight, getting excited in anticipation of a spar, either physical or verbal very easily. Yet he too, seemed reclusive. From how easily he just upped and joined the team, she supposed he had been traveling alone.

Kiko wondered idly if the team of theirs would ever be able to get close with everything that separated them.

The door opened as Lily stumbled in, too tired to complain, followed by Mik, him shepherding her as if she were a lamb. She dropped down onto a chair and ate diligently from the food Rekka placed in front of her. She didn't murmur thanks, but she didn't put up a fuss about the "commoner's fare" either, so they took what they could get.

"Where's Mira?" Rekka asked, voicing the common unspoken question.

The answer came in the form of a loud crash, a scream, and the sound of dogs barking in the crew's quarters. They rushed out, instantly alert- well, Lily stumbled out drowsily- and went quickly to the women's room.

The sight that greeted them was…a bit chaotic. Mira had slept on the middle bunk, but she was now on the floor with her blankets twisted around her, holding her head. Ash was trying to calm down the two dogs that were chasing each other and knocking things over. Yes, two. Lily's Chihuahua had escaped her room and had been overjoyed at finding a new playmate. But Aiden was intimidated by the smaller, highly enthusiastic puppy, and had run away. The Chihuahua seemed to think this was a new game and thus had begun a game of chase, ripping through the ladies' luggage and whatnot. The sound had woken Mira, who had sat up quickly and knocked her head on the underside of the top bunk. Dizzy, she felt the tiny Chihuahua wriggling around in her blankets as it tried to get to Aiden. Because the world was spinning, she freaked out and tried to push the foreign object off her bed, falling herself.

And that was how they found them, Mira holding her head in confusion on the floor, the two dogs chasing each other and messing up random objects in the room, paw prints from the still unwashed chihuahua on the sheets, and Ash trying to keep up with them and regain control over the usual obedient Aiden.

The Chihuahua, seeing Lily, ditched the game of chase and ran to her side, tugging at her nightgown, asking to be picked up, which it was.

Without the hyperactive puppy chasing it, Aiden regained his normal calm composure and trotted back to Ash, who smiled sheepishly at Mira, blinking hard.

They looked at her, dark hair mussed from sleeping and hand rubbing the spot where she hit her head.

"Okay," she finally spoke, taking a deep breath and exhaling, seeing the others. "I got the message. I'm awake now."

**[***]**

After quickly finishing her breakfast, Mira joined the others on the main deck just in time to dock the ship in Loguetown.

"How long will you take?" Mira asked Rekka, being the only reason they were stopping here. "I'd like to start as soon as possible."

"Not long," the curly-haired woman said. "I just need to check up on someone and deliver my present." she held up the hastily wrapped object that was clutched in her arms.

"Is anyone else getting off the ship?" Ash asked, eyeing the crowded city with something akin to distaste. Mercor was different- it was somewhere she had to be for Galley-La. But if she didn't _have_ to submerge herself in people and buildings, she honestly would rather not. She much preferred the comfort and adrenaline of mountains and woodland.

Thao shrugged. "Yeah, might as well. I haven't visited Loguetown in a while; maybe they'll have something new for me to see. Or I'll just head down to the Gold Roger Bar and see what's up. I hear that's the only place in Loguetown that Marines don't guard like it's an extra prison nowadays. Crawling around everywhere…Also I need a drink." he muttered.

Kiko had her leg propped up on a barrel and tightened her laces on her boots. "I'll go too. Take a look around. See if anything's changed."

Lily stared at Mik, who wasn't looking at her, instead staring off into the town. She wondered what he was thinking. Did he want to go into town?

_I wonder if anyone is still here_, Mik mused silently. He was distracted by Lily gripping his hand. He raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Do you want to go, Mik?" she asked quietly. He began to shake his head when her sudden tightening of his hand stopped him. "I'll go. I want to."

He looked at her, face set in determination, and hesitated. Then he nodded.

"We'll be going too." Lily announced.

Her wanting to go had to do with wanting to make Mik happy, but also…she wanted to feel real again. Like she did in Mercor, seeing all those wonderful, frightening, new things. She was selfish, after all.

Ash looked over at Mira, who seemed to realize that Ash would be the only person left on the ship. "It's okay," she interrupted Mira, who was about to speak. "I'll stay here then and guard the ship with Aiden."

"Are you sure?" Mira asked.

"I'll be fine. Aiden is more than enough to protect me." she confirmed and smiled, rubbing the setter's head. "Isn't that right, boy?"

He gave a sharp bark in agreement.

The others nodded, and then walked off the ship. Ash watched as they approached the entrance to the city, and then split off into three groups. Kiko and Thao walked in the direction of the shops to the right, Mik and Lily strode straight into the town, and Mira and Rekka veered left, onto a side path leading into the town.

Ash sighed. She kind of felt bad. Maybe she should have gone too…now what was she going to do for…however long they were going to be gone?

She sighed and headed back inside. Maybe she would take a nap. She didn't really sleep well last night. Maybe she could dig around Kiko's stuff and find some romance novels for her perusing pleasure…

**[***]**

Mira followed Rekka through the dense foliage. They had gone off the path to the town long ago, and Mira was beginning to get worried. She would be the first to admit she wasn't particularly brave, being generally afraid of risks. She liked familiar things, things that she knew how to manipulate, things that meant comfort.

Trudging through the wet leaves wasn't exactly her idea of comfort. She hadn't even known there was this much forest on this island.

"Are you- sure you know where we're going?" she asked cautiously.

Rekka nodded confidently. "The signals are so obvious. Anyone that really wanted to look could find us."

Mira looked around. "What signals?"

Rekka pointed at the trees and the ground. "Smoke burn on this trunk, broken twig over there." At Mira's confused look, she sighed exasperatingly. "For god's sake, Mira. There is a _footprint_. Right there!" pointing to a small indent on the ground.

Rekka sighed as Mira went "Ohhhhhhhh I see!"

"You're not an outdoors person, are you?"

Mira smiled enigmatically and looked away and whistled.

They continued walking in silence. As Rekka focused on looking for her tracks to wherever, Mira's thoughts gradually lapsed into nonsense as well.

_Oh it's so wet and damp and oh why is it both wet and humid and sunny ugh I hate the sun its so BRIGHT. _

_I know right? _Diva chimed in. _Totally bad for my skin. And my eyes. _

_But it's good for your health, isn't it? The sun can give you warmth and necessary nutrients, _Health mentioned.

_Oh no. No no no. Go AWAY. Go and go to sleep again. Leave me alone-I'm trying to concentrate!_

_Concentrate on what_? Curiosity asked.

_Not tripping, for one. _

_Go back to sleep? Why? Come now, there are so many good and handsome men and I'm so_ lonely_-_

_NO! You're the reason I put you to sleep. Especially you, Lust. What do you even do?_

_What do _I _do_?_ Well, I help you make dozens of little Miras-_

_OH MY GOD SHUT UP. _

"Mira?" Rekka voice sounded from in front of her. She instantly snapped to attention, blushing slightly. "Yes!"

Rekka smiled. "Well, we're here." She pushed aside some vines and called out, "Home sweet home."

**[***]**

Lily couldn't look away. Even though Loguetown wasn't as bustling and bright as Mercor, it was still bustling and busy. Marines still inhabited this island in case of pirates, and it was disconcerting to see them at the oddest times. She had nearly run into one….more than a couple of times, exiting stores. Her chihuahua was with her, in her arms. She was scared that he would get trampled in the crowd.

It wasn't until seeing the many dress shops and clothing stores and beauty parlors that she looked down at her own garb and realized that, without a maid to dress her hair, she didn't know how to do anything besides pick the clothing and wear them. She couldn't even lace up the backs to some of them! Hence the reason for her wearing the simplest dresses she owned, with no lace or ties or anything. But then again, she had lost so much clothing. She had money. She could run back to the ship and get some and then spend them. It was _her_ dowry anyway. She should be able to do whatever she wanted with it, right?

She hazarded a look at Mik. She wasn't sure where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do. They went into the town and he just looked at her, asking where she wanted to go. So she pointed at a vague direction and he stretched out a hand, as if to say, "After you." Since that, he'd just been following her. But he seemed to be looking, skimming the crowd, searching for something.

She rounded the corner and ran smack into the prettiest dress she had ever seen. It was a (light blue, obviously) dress with gentle frills and lace lining the neck and the wrist cuffs. To any other person, it would have looked just like any other dress Lily had. But alas, it was an affliction of the rich, to forget the things that they themselves already own in favor of _needing_ that which they do not possess yet.

"Mik." she called. When he didn't respond, she looked up at him. He didn't seem to have heard her, eyes intent on a person he had caught sight of.

Lily didn't like not being the center of attention. "Mik!" she whined. He jerked out of his trance and looked at her. "Yes?"

Lily looked towards the area he had been staring at, then back at the dress. "I want it." she said, pointing to the dress in the display case of the store.

He inclined his head. "Then purchase it." He didn't see a problem.

"I want to, but I left the money on the ship, and I'm tired. Could you run back and get it?" In a sudden flash of genius, she added, "I'm sure whoever you were looking at is heading in that direction too…" she hesitated. Would he take the bait?

Mik was torn- would he leave Lily alone, go get her things, and perhaps see the person who he had seen for a quick instant?

_Just one minute_, he thought._ I will be gone for just one minute. Lily is stronger and more deft than she appears._

"Go in the dress shop and do not leave. It is a small store. Stay in there and do not walk around, understand?" he called, making up his mind and beginning to rush away. "I will be back in a minute!" he called.

Lily smiled and ran to the store.

Once inside, she could see that there were more than just the one pretty dress in the shop window, although Lily still thought that was one was the best one. She began shuffling through the racks of clothing and admiring the dresses displayed on the mannequins. A particular purple and black dress caught her eye. She was never one to wear dark colors, preferring pastelly purple or light pinks and blues and whites. But the style of the dress was interesting, eyecatching. Lily looked around, wondering if she could get it in another color, when suddenly a shadow fell over her. She heard the little chihuahua growl.

Lily gasped and spun around.

The shopkeeper smiled kindly. Seeing that it was a short old man, with a bald top and grey hair around the ears, and spectacles on his nose from which he peered through with narrowed eyes, calmed Lily somewhat.

"Can I help you, young lady?"

"Yes, you can. I would like to know if this dress comes in more than one color. As you can see, I would like more light colored hues. Purple and black is too- strong- for me."

The shopkeeper was still looking at her in an assessing fashion.

It was getting kind of creepy.

"Hey! Did you hear what I said?" Lily snapped.

The shopkeeper smiled. "I will go take a look. I will be just a minute." he called as he headed towards the back. He stopped and turned back. "Oh yes, the dog will need to be sent outside. I can't have them scratched up my merchandise, now can I?" Lily nodded as he disappeared into the back.

"What a creep.." Lily muttered, turning. She picked up the little dog and placed him outside the store. "Stay, okay?"

The dog whimpered. "No boy. I will be right back."

Shaking off the sinking feeling, she entered the store.

The shopkeeper soon returned and saw her admiring a dress. "Oh that one is very good. The young lady has very good taste in high-quality clothing?"

"Of course." Lily preened. She was from a very noble family after all. "So did you find another color scheme for my dress?"

The shopkeeper nodded and sighed. "I found records of a blue and silver one in the inventory sheet, but I can't seem to find it. I will go check the storage area again. But while I am searching, would you like to try some of these lovely dresses that you've been admiring on? I have some ladies that can help you if you need help lacing or something." He motioned towards the back, to the fitting room area.

Lily looked back at her dress and wondered how it would look on her. Nodding, she picked out a few- forgetting the one she had originally come into the store for- and entered the fitting room.

**[***]**

Mira followed Rekka into the clearing. It was afternoon, and people were peaceful and quiet. Well, as peaceful and quiet as it could get.

Rekka shot a look back at Mira and grinned. "Welcome to _Cirque del Gitano, _Circus of the Gypsy."

At Mira's lost look, she gave a guess to what the other woman was thinking. "This is the living quarters. Most likely, the circus itself is set up somewhere else that is less hidden to outsiders." Mira nodded.

There were people milling around, but none of them seemed to pay Rekka much notice. A rustling curtain from a nearby caravan grabbed Rekka's notice and she called over to it. "Orinn-sama?"

A graying, brown haired woman opened the door to the wagon and looked out. Her face was stern, but it softened at seeing Rekka. "Oki-chan! Long time no see."

She headed down the steps, waving away Rekka's helping hand. "Not that old yet, my dear. I can still walk down a couple of damn wooden planks."

"Language, Orinn-sama." Rekka admonished her. She waved this away as well, eyes narrowing at seeing Mira. "Gypsies don't take well to outsiders. Who is this?"

"Her name is Mira, Orinn-sama. She's one of my crewmates." Rekka answered.

The old lady's glare landed on her. "You traveling with pirates now?"

"Oh no! We're not pirates." Mira interjected. The lady glared at her. "Was I talking to you?"

"No ma'am." Mira looked down, feeling like she was back at the academy and being scolded by a teacher for talking out of turn.

"Orinn-sama, be nice. I'm going to be traveling with her for awhile. What else have I got to do?" Rekka shrugged.

"Come back to us, for one. But I suppose you're here to see Ninjo and Nikko?" she answered, suddenly solemn.

She nodded. The old woman pointed to one of the smaller caravans that was just as colorful and lively looking as the others.

Rekka nodded in thanks, and beckoned for Mira to follow her.

**[***]**

Lily slipped into a dress that had only a little lacing in the front, which she did herself easily. She examined herself from every angle, twirling a bit here and there. It wasn't light blue, instead being a darker blue and white. It was pretty, but the design looked like a marine uniform, for a woman. Something maybe a Marine's daughter would wear on special occasions. She looked at the price tag. It was actually fairly cheap. But was it worth looking like she stepped out of a "Marine Family" magazine? Lily sighed and began to unlace the dress.

She heard knocking on the dressing room door. "Dear? I've found the dress." It was the shopkeeper.

Lily brightened and opened the door. She looked at the old man with nothing in his hands and arched an eyebrow. "Well? Where is it?"

The man rubbed his remaining hair sheepishly. "Well, it was, like I thought, in the storage room. But unfortunately, I'm too short to reach it and I seem to have misplaced my long hook rod. I thought maybe you were tall enough to reach it yourself."

Lily rolled her eyes. Trust incompetent old men to lose their things. She sighed and waved with her hand. "Oh very well. Go ahead. Lead the way."

She had expected the storage room to be just around the corner, but instead he led her to a set of stairs leading downwards. She reached for the light switch but it was covered with tape. "It hasn't worked for years, but if I flip it, the electricity will still cost me money," the shopkeeper explained. "Follow me."

"Aren't storage rooms supposed to be on the same floor?" Lily asked warily.

"Yes, well, because of the way I have to store these dresses- you understand- I can't just hang them or squish them together- it might ruin the mesh or the netting. Some of the wire hoops require large space to store as well. So I needed a bigger room than the one I could provide upstairs, see?"

It made sense...Lily nodded and realized that he couldn't see her. "Yes."

They continued downwards, until she could not see the light from the windows of the shop anymore.

The shopkeeper finally stopped and fumbled around for a candle. "Just give me a second. I placed them right around here."

She sighed and leaned backward. She felt her hands land on a table. She lifted her hands and realized it was a shelf, probably for storing clothing. Her hands glided onto dusty shelves. No dresses or clothes. Frowning, she assumed that it was just an empty spot. She felt along the other shelves.

There were no clothes or any kind. Only dust.

Lily felt a chill run up her spine. "Why isn't there anything on these shelves?" she questioned.

"Ah ha! I got it." She heard the shopkeeper say. She turned and saw a purple candle flare and light up some of the surrounding gloom.

There were empty shelves lining the walls. They all laid bare. There was not a single piece of clothing anywhere in the room.

She turned to face the shopkeeper slowly. "You lied." she said blandly.

The candle illuminated his face eerily. "Yes."

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked calmly, even though she wanted to scream and flail and cry. The calm before the storm, they say.

He smiled again- but this time it wasn't a kind smile. "You really think I could survive on selling dresses? At those prices? No, those are just a lure. I set up my shop here. So many rich young women- or just young women in general- come here, looking for a dress to outfit themselves with. They see my prices. They see hope and try them on. Then they are locked down here, where my walls are insulated and reinforced. Then I call up my companions on my Transponder Snail and I wait for them to get here. They will then take you to a ship with you will be sold into slavery or whatever they have planned for you. My main source of income, my dear," he exited the room, taking the only source of light with him.

"Is you."

The calm broke.

* * *

Omake:

Rekka: None of the OC owners provided any favorite foods. How am I supposed to cook for them?

Me: Um…I don't know. I barely cook myself…

R: …So I'm just supposed to like pull things out of nowhere?

M: Oh come on I'm sure after a while you will get to know them and everything will be fine.

Lily: You're ending the chapter..with me locked in some creepy old pervert's basement? In a half unlaced sailor dress?

M: Um…yes?

L: ….. You…you…you….GAH. MIK!

Mik: Yes?"

L: GO GET HER.

Mik: but..but she's writing us. How can I go 'get her'?

L: UGH why are you so useless?

Mik: ….*returns to emo corner*

Kiko: Everyone's bullying Mik…

Me: What? No, we're not bullying him! The emo corner is just his natural habitat.

Mira: Don't you think you are being a little cruel to him?

Me: So what? You two are my own characters…free to abuse as I please.

Mira: *sobs* Move over Mik.. *joins in emo corner*

Thao: I smell depression…

Me: Yeah, coming from the place you left a while ago. *gestures towards corner*

T: Oh. There.

Me: Yup. There.

Ash: …don't you think its unhealthy to send people there a lot?

Me: What? Why?

A: -_-' no reason.

* * *

**I'm trying to make them shorter because I myself realize that longer chapters are harder to take in all at once. I thought I would end it here- CLIFFHANGER YAY. But I'm afraid the next chapter is pretty long…can't shorten it, sorry! I move fast in the next chapter, so beware..muahahah  
*OH YES: lovely people ples, check the update on the character submission story: i updated the last update with new info!~ please check it and get back to me ASAP :)**

***edit: fixed the breaks between POV switches. I didn't realize FF removes the asterisks alone..so now the breaks have brackets! MUAHAHA. **

**hopefully they show up -_-**


	6. Chapter 4: The pace that requires

**Okay. Ended up splitting into THREE parts. But this one is a good 2000+ words! So um. The next chapter will be some 3000+ words. I'm thinking about splitting that one too…but then that means the original chapter 3..is actually chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6… and that means the other characters can't come in til chapter 7. And that makes me feel horribly guilty. Anyway! Enjoy this [short] chapter….**

**If it makes you feel better, Ch.5 is done~**

Rekka slowly entered the room as Mira admired the interior. Gypsy caravans always had such ingenious and pretty design. Though the room was small, the design made it seem spacious. The tiny sink area was in the corner, under a small window that shed light into the room. The bed was in the other corner. A young brown haired woman was at the sink, washing some cutlery. Another laid on the bed, still sleeping.

At seeing Rekka walk into the room, the hazel eyes widened. She slowly put down her plates and leapt at Rekka. "*Sis! You're back!"

Rekka hugged the girl and laughed. "Hello, Ninjo. How have you been?"

"Good, but I missed you."

Rekka looked over to the blonde still curled under the covers. "Is Nikko still sleeping? Lazy banana."

"She had a long night last night." Ninjo explained. " I just let her sleep."

Rekka went and sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing the dark gold hair. "Wake up Nikko, I have something for you." she crooned.

The figure shifted and moaned. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. When they opened, Mira saw that they were a dark red. Her face brightened upon seeing Rekka. "Hey sis. Welcome back."

Rekka nodded. "I can't stay long. I have to go. But I brought you guys the stuff you guys asked for."

Their faces fell at the fact that Rekka would not be stayed, but they huddled around at the mention of gifts.

Rekka took out her bundle and brought out a sky blue and purple necklace and earring set. The silver chain glittered in the morning sunlight that shone through the window above the sink. The stones were blue, with highlights of purple depending on the light. At the center of the pendant itself was a spot of ruby, the same shade as Nikko's eyes.

"Here, let's see how it looks on you." Rekka fiddled with the clasp as Nikko lifted her hair. "There."

Mira admired the girl's beauty. Even though she just woke up and had no makeup on whatsoever, she was pretty. The necklace made that fact appear more pronounced. _Yet,_ Mira mused, _even though they were all about the same height, Nikko, with her blonde hair and red eyes and tan skin, looked nothing like Rekka. _

"And these," Rekka spoke as she brought out two grim, dusty looking books. The covers were plain brown, with gold-leaf lettering, in another language. "Is for you. I can't read that, so I just asked around. I hope it's the right ones?" she asked Ninjo, who smiled and nodded.

Mira, curious, peeked over Rekka's shoulder at the books. "_The Theory of Serial Endosymbiosis_ and_ The Study of Dialectic Inflections upon the usage of Modern Vocabulary_?" she read, confused. "Why are you reading those?"

The three sisters turned to look at her. Ninjo was the only who answered, coming over her brief surprise. She lifted up one of the books. "I like learning about languages. I'm a polyglot, which I assume you are as well?"  
Mira nodded. "And the other?"

Ninjo swallowed and smiled. "Medicine seems interesting."

Mira smiled. "Well, may I recommend some books that I believe can help you?" At Ninjo's nod, they went to a writing desk beside the kitchen area and grabbed a piece of paper. "If you're interested in microcellular processes such as endosymbiosis, might I suggest_ Eukaryotic Origins_ by the same author, and _Oxidative Phosphorylation, _which is also along those lines. But I think if you're going to improve strength against disease, you might want to try, oh, what was it called, something Biosynthesize, but you can only find that one in Bilkan, I believe…"…. "But wasn't that author discredited?" "It depends on people; I still think some of his words hold true…" they mumbled together, pencils scratching and murmuring titles and authors at each other. Rekka and Nikko looked on, in an "are you serious" fashion. They had always known their sister was a scholar, but they didn't think they would meet someone who could talk to Ninjo at such a purely intellectual level.

Nikko looked over at Rekka and then at her necklace. "Thanks sis. But I would rather you stay and not bring us anything, you know?"

Seeing her forlorn expression, Rekka gave Nikko a hug. The two were close, always the ones taking risks as Ninjo followed behind, constantly telling them to be careful. "Come now Nikko, you're 21. You can do things just fine without me. Look how well you're doing! Do we have a boyfriend yet?"

At Nikko's blush, Rekka gasped. "No! You do? Why didn't you tell me? Tell me about him."

"Um...he's really cute…"

[***]

Mik sighed internally as he headed back to the dress shop, carrying a small bag of gold. He had thought he saw someone he knew, but he was wrong.

He wondered where everyone was now. Whether they remembered him, whether they thought he was dead.

Shaking his head before he could drown in his depressions, he entered the dress shop. It was fairly small, and the multitude of fluffy confections left little room for walking around and made the room seem cramped. He walked around. He furrowed his brow. Where was Lily? He told her to stay in the shop.

Walking to the back of the store, he saw a little old man with small circular spectacles come out of a door and close the door behind him. He had a candle that smelled like lavender in his hand. He was smiling to himself, but stopped when he saw Mik towering over him_. He must be the shopkeeper_, Mik thought.

The little man plastered a smile on his face. "Well, you surprised me. How can I help you? Have you come to buy a lovely dress for a lucky lady?"

Mik looked around the back and saw no one. He turned his attention back to the little old man. "Yes- I mean no- I mean, I'm looking for a young woman. Taller than you, but shorter than me, about my shoulder height." He motioned. "I saw her come in here."

The man shook his head. "Blonde? Yes, she came in and looked around. But then I think she saw someone out the window and left to chase it- whoever it was." he said.

Mik looked around. "Are you sure?" he said, bewildered. Lily would have never disregarded his words and run off. Perhaps she saw someone that looked like him? "Thank you for your time."

The shopkeeper watched as he left the store, scratching his head in confusion. He headed left and was out of the store's vicinity. The shopkeeper let out a breath of deep relief at seeing the tall, intimidating man leave.

_Where were the bandits_? He wondered. They were usually never late. Especially not when he had a prize this good. The girl was probably a noble, and just her pretty face alone could fetch quite a bit on the human slave market. He sat down and supposed he would wait.

[***]

Lily was sitting in the corner, huddled in the lavender-smelling darkness, courtesy of the stupid old man's candle. She had screamed and cried and pounded the door, to no avail. She couldn't hear anything that was going on above, so she doubted that anyone above could hear her. She wondered if Mik had already entered the store looking for her, and finding no one, had left her.

Oh god, if that was the case, then no one would find her. She would be captured and sold and no one would find her and she would die and Mik oh god.

She was alone. For the first time ever, she was alone.

A wave of helplessness swept through her. She held her head in her arms, fighting the urge to resume her tears.

_No, _her stubbornness reared its head. _Are you kidding me? You're just going to give up like this? You survived a sinking ship! And pirates! Like what, yesterday? At least get up and _do_ something before he comes back!_

She got up and walked around, feeling for a door, or a window, or something. _There has got to be a way out of here, right?_

She tripped over a stool as she was halfway around the room. "Augh!"

She panted against the floor and sat up, cradling her knee. In the dark , she couldn't see anything. But she could feel thin beads of moisture as she rubbed her hands over the skin. Praying that it wasn't too bad, she sat and waited for the pain to subside.

No such luck.

The door slammed open and the room was flooded with light. She shielded her eyes as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed by someone- more than a few someones- and tied up. "She smells good." she heard as they tied her up. She screamed and flailed to get loose, but they just made her restraints tighter. They lifted her over a large, burly bandit's shoulder and headed back upstairs.

She could see the treacherous shopkeeper again. "Quickly!" He hissed, motioning them through the back from where they came.

She glared at the man as they left, and watched as his back door slammed shut.

They were now on a side road, leading away from Loguetown, and all the dipping and lurching was making her sick. Dimly she remembered that Mira and Rekka came this way. Would they, by some twist of fate, be able to come and rescue her?

The person nearly tripped over a hole in the dirt path. She couldn't take it anymore. "Hey! Do you know how to do something called WALKING correctly?" she snapped at the guy.

He gave a grunt in response and resumed his running. After a while of this, she felt him slow. She was put down onto the ground unceremoniously ("PLEASE drop me harder! Please! I DARE you! Who do you think you are?") and she turned to face the leader of the Bandits, sitting in a chair at the "head" of a circle.

He was bleeding, she noticed with some surprise. In fact, she thought, turning to look at the entire group of thieves, they had all seemed to sustain heavy injuries. Many nursed bruises and cuts.

She smirked. "So what happened to you guys?"

The leader glared. "Shut your mouth, girl. Just sit there until the slave traders come."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" The bandit said. "I am Bandit Bob, and we had an unsuccessful raid, and we were attacked. Does that answer all your questions?"

Lily nodded and fiddled with the rope around her wrists.

The bandits had all gathered around Bandit Bob and were discussing something. Lily sat there and fidgeted. She was bored. So she did what all bored rich women do.

Complain.

"My wrists hurt from the rope. Can you guys untie me?"

"No! Be quiet!" the bandit said.

She gave them half a minute before whining again. "My knees are feeling cramped. I need to move around. I can't feel my toes or my fingers!"

"Well you can sure feel your tongue don't you? Shut up before we cut it off."

"You won't though, won't you? Cutting off my tongue will probably decrease my value on the slave market."

"Your value will decrease anyway once they see your attitude."

She gave them another minute. "I need to use the restroom. Unless you want me to soil my clothing? Do you have other clothing that is fit to dress me in?"

In all honesty, Lily would never have done so, and she didn't need to use anything. She was trying to push, to annoy, to stall.

"Shut up!"

"How can I shut up when I'm all uncomfortable like this?" she whined, a true epitome of female irritation. "If you expect me to get a high value, the least you can do is treat me right. At this rate my perfect skin will be all messed up and I will look hideous. Then where will your money go?"

"Alright!" the bandit conceded our of frustration. "If we move you to a more comfortable place, will you shut the hell up?"

"I take offense to your coarse language and rude behavior, but yes I would like that."

Bandit Bob motioned for two men to lift her roughly from the dirt to a crate. It was little better, as her hands and feet were still tied up, but at least she could sort of wiggle around without falling on her face.

"Now shut up!"

The menacing glare he shot her was enough to keep her quiet. He turned back to his men and she caught him whisper, "Give her something to_ relax_." He stressed. "I need quiet to decide how to account for all the losses. That bastard from this morning...taking all our loot for the day."

Soon a tall, sickly looking man approached her. He didn't say a word, simply lifted the amber liquid in the clear cup up to her.

Lily made a face. "Do you expect me to drink that?" He nodded.

"No." She flatly refused.

That was the wrong answer. Two bandits grabber her arms and legs and held her as the sickly looking man offered her the drink, pushing it against her lips. She pressed her lips tightly together and shook her head. After putting up her little fight, they got it in her in the end. It was bitter and sour and sticky and disgusting, like nothing she had tasted before. However, the aftertaste was pleasant, the subtle hint of rosy sweetness lingering on her tongue. It make her feel heavy yet light as a feather at the same time. They left her to her own devices. She slumped and leaned against the crates.

Now all she could do was wait, it seemed.

[***]

Omake:

Me: And now you guys must wait as well! Muahahaha!

Lily: …You didn't expect to end it here. You have no omake thought up for this one.

M: True, true. But then most of them are spur of the moment things.

L: You're pathetic. But at least I'm out of that horrible cellar. They drugged me. I'm a minor.

M: You're 19, you're hardly a minor.

L: I'm not even of legal drinking age.

M: In the US, no. But in Malaysia, its supposedly 16.

L: What is Malaysia?

M: Oh right right, there is no Malaysia in OP-verse.

L: You're stupid. Stop talking.

M: *sob* any room for me in the emo corner?

Mik and Mira: No. We're crowded enough as it is.

M: Where did all these people come from?"

M&M(s): I don't know. Why did you start advertising the emo corner?

M: I was hardly advertising…

M&M(s): doesn't matter. OUT! This emo corner is for AOCWADAC.

M: …?

Kiko: Abused Original Characters Who Demand A Change.

M: Oh, okay…that was the best acronym you could come up with? *pfft*

M&M: OUT!

***I'm loathe to use japanese. Honestly, I've read some ff and its really obnoxious. Like…this American person is going around going OMG KAWAII DESU SASUKE-KUN. So sometimes its really annoying. But I mean…sometimes it fits. Also, I tend to think in the language I'm writing as. So slip-ups may occur. For instance, I was really tempted to use 'onee-san', [ps: sisterly bonding!~] but I wasn't sure if you guys cared. LOL. But I will use -san, -kun, -sama, because that's just a way of addressing people and I don't think it affects anything. Um. But if you have a really strong opinion..then…uh…I will just use Mr., Mrs., etc only. (For example- Lily is referred to as 'Miss' from the shopkeeper. Right now I'm just using both, depending on which sounds better in the circumstances.)**

**Oh yes and- as you can tell…Mira is quite the scholar [thereisareasonipromiseitsnot adevilfruit] XD But yeah um…I just mixed together hard-sounding boring old books in my head..and then searched it up and realized it was a real thing. LOL so if you actually…somehow..study..eukaryotic origins..then…*cough* forgive me if it has nothing to do with medicine/health. BUT I did read about it and its biology and about cell regeneration. So I think I'm pretty close! ^^


	7. Chapter 5: more effort, more strength

***I promised to have this up yesterday…but I was stuck doing a Lit project THAT WASN'T EVEN DUE GRRR…so here. One day late~ It's still Wednesday somewhere right XD**

**OMG guys, latest news. So I found out that 'Mikhaael'…the way I pronounce it, (Mikhael) is actually some character from some TV show, who apparently actually dresses a bit like Mik and acts a bit like him too. Thank you for your notice, PM-er. I would just like to clarify (in case any of you guys watch this mysterious TV show) that Mik practically popped out from my head. Honest. I didn't draw on any references or characters (Although his appearance bears SLIGHT resemblance to a former crush of mine-SLIGHT). So…in case any of you are reading and think I might get sued…I HOPE I DON'T XD. I don't even know the name of the show. **

**Which reminds me. I DON'T HAVE ANY DISCLAIMERS O.O You guys, Y U NO remind me?**

**Startin' now~ One Piece does not belong to me. Do you seriously need me to tell you who wrote it -_- That's what google is for, people. Although I am using this fandom for monetary gain, imo $20 is PETTY next to however much the fandom of OP sells for, okay. Let me have my bit of fun and money. **

"Before I go," Rekka asked, "Where are my...?" She motioned to her arms.

Rekka had retrieved her things that she might need throughout the journey, and she and Mira were now standing at the edge of the Circus, waiting to leave. Mira looked at her oddly at her statement, but widened her eyes at the two beautiful objects Nikko and Ninjo brought out.

Two jet black, scaly-smooth snakes wrapped around the arms and neck of each of the sisters. They seemed to be the same size, but the one on Nikko's body seemed longer and lazier, moving slowly and surely. In contrast, the one wrapped around Ninjo seemed quick, jerking around and flicking its tongue out.

Smelling Rekka, they uncoiled from the two sisters and rewound themselves back onto Rekka's arms. Their heads waved around before they settled in her hands. She petted them and crooned softly, "Hello, my** ***preciouses, my darlings, my jewels. How have you been doing without me? Good?"

Rekka caught sight of Mira staring at them longingly and smiled. "Circus snakes. Bred solely by the gypsies. Tame, yet ferocious in battle. I use them the best of course. And _these_ are the best of the breed."

"I've always had a gruesome fascination with snakes," Mira admitted softly.

"Would you like to?" Rekka offered, extending her arm.

"Are they dangerous?"

"Safety first, of course, I know. Don't worry."

Mira raised her hand hesitantly, allowing the longer snake to coil around her wrist. "This one is Pestilence." Rekka informed her. "And the one I have is Plague."

Mira moved slowly and carefully as the long snake wrapped around her arm. With her free hand, she carressed the top of its head and felt its scales. "They're quite beautiful." she murmured.

Rekka grinned. "Aren't they?"

"You'll come back, right Oki-chan?" Orinn-sama asked her, to the two sister's emphatic nods.

"Of course I will," she responded, hugging the three people.

Waving goodbye, the two left the Cirque de Gitano and headed back to the ship.

[***]

Mik ran his hands through his hair, frustrated to no extent. Where the hell was Lily? He hoped against hope she was not lost or captured. In this mass of people, either was likely.

He sighed. Maybe she was with Thao and Kiko, or Rekka or Mira or someone and he was stressed about nothing. Lily wasn't known for being the most responsible, anyway. But he couldn't shake off the bad feeling following him from the dress shop.

"Mik!" he heard someone call out. Turning, he caught sight of Kiko, dragging Thao. He stilled and stayed in place until the two caught up with him.

"So this _guy_," she spat out as she neared. "Got us kicked out of the bar because he started a fistfight with some other _idiot_ who thought that Thao looked like some pirate who eloped wit his girlfriend. He was drunk, and I told Thao to just let it go. But _he_," she crossed her arms, "Refused to listen and said, and I quote, "Yeah? Well I'm sure she had a lot more fun with me then she would have had with you, insert a word I _refuse_ to degrade myself to repeat at the moment. Then the two begin trading insults, and the other guy, who is obviously _distraught_ and stupid drunk at this point, throws a fist. And I _told_ him and _told_ him to let it go, but _no_. Thao fights back, and _look_ at what happened now." she finished, disgusted. "He ends up with a bruised hand and bleeding from internal organs and whoever-knows-where, and I'm no nurse so I don't know how bad he's suffering. But I _hope_ he is suffering. I had to fork over a huge sum of cash for the damages cost by the fight." she said, fuming and muttering about a few choice words of her own shipwright slang, contrary to how she scolded Thao for cursing before. Throughout her rant, Thao simply lit his cigarette and held up him hands in a "So?" manner.

Mik allowed himself to smile briefly, on the inside. He looked around. "Then I suppose Lily isn't with you?" he asked worriedly.

Kiko shook her head. "No, why would she be?"

Mik took a deep breath and tried to relax. "I can't find her."

"Is she back on the ship?" Kiko asked. Mik shook his head. "Unless we somehow missed each other on the way."

"That is possible, with all these people."

He explained to them what had transpired during the short while they were gone. Thao sobered up quickly to assess the situation. He suddenly thought of something.

"Wait." he said abruptly. The other two looked at him. "Didn't Lily have that atrocious tiny dog that she thought was me?"

Struck by silence, Mik turned quickly and ran towards the dress shop, the other two trying to keep up.

He reached the shop's entrance and lo and behold, the tiny puppy, still dirty from Mercor's streets, sat obediently waiting for his master. Seeing Mik, the puppy leapt up and yipped three harsh barks.

"He's agitated," Kiko said.

"We can see that," Thao replied dryly, causing Kiko to shoot him a glare.

"Then what do we do? I can't communicate with the dog, read his mind, or force it to look for her." Kiko shot back.

Thao, looking away for inspiration, raised a hand and pointed. "Isn't that the girl who made breakfast for us this morning?"

Kiko looked as well, "Rekka? Oh yes, that is her. I'm gonna wave her over."

And thus Mira and Rekka joined her. Mira was too short to be seen among the throng of people, which was why Thao didn't catch sight of her in the first place. She looked at Mik, then looked around. "Where's Lily?" she asked, confused that Mik would ever let the girl out of his sight.

"That's the problem." Within a moment they were caught up on the situation. It seemed grim, until Rekka smiled and shook her head.

"I got this, guys." she bent down to the dog's eye level. "_michibikite" _ she whispered clearly.

Nothing happened. The, to the others' surprise, the dog began to leap up and sniff around.

"Devil Fruit?" Mira mused, to Rekka's nod. "Sunao-Sunao no mi. Animal tamer. Is it any wonder I took up with the circus?" she replied.

They followed the dog as it sniffed around and then lifted its head and sniffed the air. It suddenly began bounding away, towards the path that Mira and Rekka had just come from. It was so sudden that they all stood still for a second and half a second later they began running after the canine. For such a small chihuahua, it moved amazingly fast, threading through the feet of the street and occasionally stopped to check the scent, leaving the ragtag group trying to maneuver in the crowd, jostling people out of the way and earning many an affronted glance.

But it paid off. Soon the puppy stopped and they neared a clearing in the trees. Looking out, they could see the groups of badly beaten bandit men in the area overlooking the sea. Some were milling around, some were cooking. A group of them were gathered near the fire but not facing it, instead facing each other and muttering quietly.

Kiko punched Thao, who growled and glared. "What the hell?"

Kiko pointed to a sparse group of trees, opposite of where they were. "Lily," Mik breathed in relief.

She was propped up on some barrels, a few guard bandits sitting or standing around her. She appeared to be dozing while tied up, as her feet were bound and no one slept with their hands behind their backs like that. Mira hissed lightly as she noticed the tatters and blood on her dress and felt Mik, bent next to her, stiffen as well.

"If they hurt her.." he muttered darkly, softly. Mira felt his arm shift to grab what was surely the handle of his weapon under his trenchcoat. She reached out a hand and placed it on his arm, stilling his movement. She nodded and jerked her head back, indicating her intent to retreat for a moment. Slowly and carefully, they left their hiding place in the trees and walked until they could no longer hear the crackling fire and muttering voices. Turning to face each other, Kiko was the first to speak.

"So…should we have a plan or something?"

Thao laughed. "They don't look that hard to beat. We probably could have rushed in there with nothing more than the _intent_ and they would've been defeated." he scoffed. "Did you see how beat up those guys were? If it wasn't for Lily, I could make something with what I have in my pockets and blow the whole lot of them up."

"Unfortunately, _they do_ have Lily, and we can't risk them hurting her. So what do we do?"

There was silence.

"Well," Thao finally said. "This will be a good time to show off our skills, yeah?"

The others nodded in comprehension. Mik withdrew a *butterfly sword and twirled it once in his hand, letting the glow of the setting sun illuminate the dangerous sheen of the sword. "I trust you all can fight?"

"Can we fight?" Thao scoffed and lifted his coat to reveal dozens others of pockets on the inside, as well as a pistol strapped to his leg.

"You're not going to use that _thing_ on your back, are you?" Rekka asked warily.

His eyes narrow. "_Thing_? Excuse me? This is my homemade bazooka, and no. It won't be needed for a skirmish this small." He smirked. "Nothing like a good ol' fistfight."

At Kiko's snicker, he twitched. "Can_ you_ defend yourself?" he snapped.

Kiko didn't speak, simply reached into the back of her belt and whipped out two small daggers. She twirled them around for effect, effortlessly swinging them in circles, much as Mik had, ending with them grasped firmly in her hand. She lowered her head and smirked back at Thao's disgruntled snort.

The three looked at the two remaining girls who had not said a word. Rekka shook her head. "Close combat? Not for me. I usually prefer attacking in the dark, from a long range." Mira nodded her head in agreement.

"But I suppose," Rekka suddenly spoke aloud, smiling. "These lovelies will have to do." she lifted her arms as the two 'armbands' around her upper arm unraveled and slithered up to her hands, hissing. The twin snakes' scales rippled and moved under the light like molten darkness. Kiko, standing next to her, didn't jerk away in surprise, but she did take a step back, just in case. Nodding, they turned to the last one, who shook her head. "Sorry, can't use my devil fruit effectively in close range. Anyway, I think it's better for me to go wake up Lily and get her out of there as quickly as possible, right?" she addressed Mik.

"But what if you get attacked?" Rekka questioned her.

She simply shook her head. "I'll manage." she smiled serenely. The movement of her head caused the light to flicker across the black and silver chopsticks in her hair.

"I think, anyway." she mentioned as an afterthought.

Which of course made them all feel more secure.

With a final nod, they headed back. Mik was struck by a sudden idea.

"Thao, you got a smoke bomb?"

[***]

Lily had been dozing, it was true. The lull of the muttering and the smoke of the flames - as well as the odd drink from earlier- had sunk her into a hazy nap, her head propped on a taller barrel stack to her right. Feeling her hands, she had discovered that they were numb from the lack of circulation in her wrists. She knew that they would hurt tomorrow, she just knew it.

If she was still in any state to be worrying about her hands tomorrow.

She didn't know why she was so calm about this. Any other girl in her position would be, scared out of her mind and be high off of fear, not dozing off like she was. She wondered why. Maybe it was because she knew that Mik would come to get her. But then why wasn't he here?

Logically, her mind gave her the realistic response. How would he know where you were? He told you to stay in the dress shop. Where else could you have gone? He could never have found you. You're on your own.

She couldn't help but hope.

And that hope and trust in her safety is what helped her sleep.

But it wasn't long before she was awakened by a very, very loud CRACK in the middle of the clearing. Still groggy, she attempted to sit up but gave up and watched the proceedings with drowsy eyes and hazy mind. She saw thick, white smoke fill her vision before hearing the grunts and surprised yells of the bandits. However, through the white mist, she couldn't see anyone either, so she had no idea if the people who attacked were friend or foe.

A shadow in the mist appeared. "Lily?" it asked her. She blinked twice. Sounded familiar…but...

"Stay still and let me untie you real quick." the figure, -Mira!-, she remembered, bent down in front of Lily's feet and began unknotting the rope. Lily wanted to tell her it was useless, she couldn't feel her feet anymore anyway, when suddenly a larger shadow appeared in her vision. It lifted its shadowy arms.

"Mira!" Lily pushed out as hard as she could. Her limbs felt so heavy and dizzy that she couldn't feel her tongue. It ended up sounding something like "Murrr!"

But Mira heard. She looked up worriedly, then quickly interpreted the look in the Lily's eyes. As the figure's weapon launched down from it's raised height, Lily closed her eyes. She opened her eyes when she heard the sharp _cling_ of iron meeting steel. As the smoke began to clear in her vision, she saw that Mira's hair had come undone. The black sticks were crossed in her hands, pushing back the bandit who had tried to ambush her. Lily could see her hands straining from the weight of the man's strength.

She uncrossed one of the sticks and swept it in a horizontal arc across the man's stomach. Blood began to seep out of the wound. Though the cut was not deep, it was enough of a shock that the bandit stepped back in surprise.

Mira swung another arc with the other edged blade across his face. It cut diagonally across his face, from his cheek to the temple on the other side. As he let out a cry of pain and anger and fell backward, his fall was stopped by Thao, whose arm curled around the bandit's neck and squeezed. "Sorry to steal your fun, but you should get Lily out, yeah?" Thao called. The man elbowed Thao in the stomach, loosening his grasp. Soon both were in a tussle on the ground.

Mira brushed some hair from her eyes and began cutting through Lily's restraints. Severing the last strand of rope, she stood up. "Come on! Let's go!"

Lily shook her head. "Can't!" she gasped out. Her feet felt like a million needles and Mira's face was swimming in her vision.

Mira let out a sigh of frustration and turned to assess the situation, slim weapons crossed defensively. After a few moments, the smoke began to clear in the area.

"Well," Mira muttered dryly. "It seems there won't be any need to."

[***]

After Thao had thrown that smoke bomb, Kiko had run in after the two men. Mik ran directly into the center of the ring of bandits and immediately snatched up what seemed to be the leader. Thao had barged into the fray, ready for a fight, pummeling the first bandit he could get his hands on. She watched Rekka control her snakes, turning them into twin coils of terror. They were very versatile, she realized. They worked in tandem to choke, knock unconscious, bite, butt their heads, and whip their tails. Under Rekka's control they could even lash to each other into a long, lethal rope, complete with coils of thick, ropey muscle and venom.

Kiko herself launched at the man, who was taking advantage of her early observations and tried to attack her. She wasn't aiming to kill, just knock out. It was fairly easy. She didn't get a scratch, and she didn't even have to try. As Thao had noticed, they were very battered. She wondered why.

Flicking her daggers quickly and using her surprisingly strength, she cut through a crowd of men to escape the circle they had been crowding around her. It wouldn't do to end up trapped. Hearing a thump behind her, she saw a bandit fall as a black shape retreated to its owner. Nodding in thanks at Rekka's save, she returned the favor by throwing a dagger at her. It landed in a man's shoulder, a man who was trying to slash at Rekka from behind as well. Kiko wasn't the greatest marksman, but she could hold her own in a given situation. A solid blow from a snake tail knocked the man out from his screams of pain as surely as could be. Yanking the dagger out, Rekka tossed it back at Kiko and then turned to their respective fights. Though the bandits were tired and worn, they were many. It seemed like they just kept coming. Kiko activated her Kenbunshoku Haki and dodged one, two, three punches before giving the guy a swift slash to the arm and a well placed punch to the head.

All too soon, it was over. The dust and smoke settled to reveal tied up bandits, unconscious bandits, and wounded bandits on the ground. Mik was in the center, tying up the leader as Thao held him down. A man next to them began to stir. Thao simply kicked him unceremoniously, returning him to the world of dreams.

Mik finished securing the ropes and turned the leader harshly to face him.

[***]

Bandit Bob really cursed his luck. This just wasn't his day. First, that stupid emo looking kid had taken all of his goods for the day, as well as beating them all up. Worse, he stole the goods that the bandits were supposed to deliver to a very high ranking noble who paid a very high price for it to be delivered safely. They were slightly cheered up when Ol' Ecchi called and said he got one, but then it turned out that the girl was a -beautiful!- but complaining, annoying noble. Instead of the crying, pitiful mess they expected, they got a haughty, stubborn girl who knew just how far to push. Bandit Bob was so confused he didn't even know how to deal with her. The way she dressed, looked, and complained meant she was definitely of nobility, but he had never seen noble girls like her _not_ be crying and helpless when captured.

It blew his mind. So he didn't think much about her. At the time, discussing how to make up the lost goods was a subject much more important.

But now, he realized, the knife pointed at his throat was _definitely_ the more worrying prospect. Like, no contest.

It wasn't the knife that scared him, he realized, so much as the man who wielded it. Who looked like he wanted literally nothing better than to run him through bloody with the weapon. And then cut him up into a million bloody pieces. His menacing glare pierced through Bob like an arrow, hitting his apple-target of a heart.

The darker man who had held him down before stood next to him panting, but grinning. The stupid green-coated brute had taken down more than a quarter of the men singlehandedly. With no weapons! As if it was a common bar brawl! There was a reason Bandit Bob stayed in the comparatively milder East Blue, but dammit they weren't THAT weak, were they? Bandit Bob shook his head mentally, not daring to do so physically. That knife might slip.

He only moved his eyeballs and quickly surveyed the scene.

It wasn't pretty. His men were scattered everywhere, all limp and prostrate. He winced at some of the more bruised ones- definitely going to feel that later.

Funny. He didn't see Nacir anywhere.

His gaze wandered to the two women standing side by side on the other side of the trenchcoat man. One was tall, with no discernible scratches on her body, and had sheathed her daggers. Crossing her arms, she frowned at him, calm blue eyes gazing at him steadily. The other was busy coaxing the two snakes quietly back around her arm. With the silent hiss of scales sliding over skin, they wrapped around her forearms. Bob shuddered imperceptibly. They looked like black armbands. If he didn't know better, the girl looked like no threat. The sunlight glinted off her gold jewelry.

He shifted his eyes to where his captive was located. The troublesome girl was still woozy, he saw. No wonder. That knockout drug Nacir mixed was extremely potent. Bob had observed its effects numerous times. Supporting her was another girl, dark hair falling around and under her shoulders. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Five -well, six, if you count emo kid from this morning- people. Six people had managed to turn his entire company upside down in less than a day.

Damn. This just wasn't his day.

* * *

Omake:

Me: and I think that's a good place to stop XD

Ash: UGH. How come I am missing out on all this action!

M: I'm sorry….When I wrote chapter 3 I didn't expect it to be so long…so I expected it to be one chapter. But this stuff like..writes itself TT you know?

A: I feel so unwanted! Three chapters! Three chapters and no word of me. I don't even get to fight. How dare you! *emo corner*

M: ah…um. Well..I can promise you will come in next chapter! And at least you're IN the story so far, right? Some characters aren't even in the story.

-object flies out from emo corner and hits me in the head-

M: I got it….ahem anyway…

**LOL I don't know what I want Mik to do…Bandit Bob isn't important enough to die…and anyway this was all written so they could display a [basic] way of fighting. Otherwise LOL this isn't even important. It also paves the way to Lily's growth…um. No spoilers XD haha. **

**Apologies to people who are patiently waiting for their characters TT Please accept all my humble apologies…but it's starting slow :) [I can't even promise it'll get better cuz LOL I don't know!] So please bear with me!~**

***preciouses: MUAHAHA Gollum. Did you catch the reference XD My god I love LOTR. Don't mind-a me :) **

****I'm not a native Japanese speaker [although I have spent time around some XD that and manga/anime, of course haha] but using english-japanese translators [hohyes] michibikite means something like 'track', or 'find' an object. **

**If you actually speak japanese and its totally wrong…LOL just laugh at me haha I don't mind :) I would totally laugh at you in a reverse situation XD**

***props to people who can guess at a tiny plot detail later about Mik XD**


	8. Interlude

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a very special edition of 'I Got My Laptop Taken Away For Spring Break So Now I Have Nothing To Upload, So Enjoy This Background Tidbits Stuff For The Time Being And Accept My Apologies. Also, I Didn't Edit This Well. Just a Heads Up (I Literally Wrote This One On The Spot)'.

We hope you enjoy.

* * *

_Somewhere in Marine HQ…_

"Where the hell is my coffee?" A very angry, very powerful vice-admiral yelled. (Because we all know coffee is universal, even in OP-verse.)

A trembling recruit handed her a cup of the hot brown liquid, shaking so much it nearly spilled over. As soon as the cup reached the slim fingers, nails painted neon pink and snapping impatient, the recruit stepped back and tried not to attract more attention as the bold-pink haired woman downed the drink in one gulp.

A smooth green haired woman standing next to her raised an eyebrow, watching. "Sure you're not addicted to that stuff, sis?"

The pink haired vice-admiral placed the -now nearly empty- cup down. "Course not. Not like it's a drug," she replied, before returning to the stack of paperwork on her desk, reinvigorated.

The green haired woman just rolled her eyes and smoothed back her perfectly wavy hair, while returning to the magazine ('Fish Feed') at hand.

Allow me to introduce them. The pink haired woman is Marissa Isei. All six feet of commanding power. She had neon green eyes, that could bring down the toughest of men (and had, many times before). She was also one of the most influential (read: demanding) persons in the entire Marine Corps. Her hair was strikingly pink, very long and when pulled back in a high ponytail like usual, reached down to her golden embroidered boots. Her entire outfit screamed 'authority'. Of course the Marine's coat she wore surely helped things along. (Of course 'wore' meaning she draped it over her shoulders, like everyone else.) Still, it was hard to believe this woman was nearing 40.

The other woman is Marissa's younger sister, Meris Isei. She was all curves and bends. Her hair was thick and wavy, all the way down to her thighs, a silky slick sea foam green. She wore a smooth wetsuit, similar green of her hair under a white , flexible armor that was reminiscent of fins. (It also showed a considerable amount of cleavage.) In addition to that, she wore a pair of short white gloves. Every part of her was glossy and calm- but she was normal. Except for her abnormally sharp teeth, but then that was only scary if she smiled a certain way. She was laid-back and almost always relaxed- unlike her sister. In fact, the two were nearly two different people. The only indication that they were remotely related lay in their appearance: the bold neon pink of Marissa's hair was the same shade of pink pigment in Meris' eyes. Likewise, the sea foam green of Meris' hair was the striking green of Marissa's irises.

Meris flipped her magazine closed and eyed her sister, diligently working through the papers. "Need any help, sis?"

Marissa didn't even look up. "No thank you. I'm fine."

It was not that Meris wasn't very good and efficient at doing paperwork either. But Marissa was much too proud to let someone else do work as trivial as this.

Meris shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna patrol the borders then. Nothing like a refreshing dip in the water."

Marissa simply nodded as her sibling left the room.

**[***]**

_Somewhere in a dark tent..._

Humming, he dipped his brush into another painted pot, then slowly dabbed the black coating against the opening of the bottle. Wiping off the excess liquid, he brought the brush to his long, elongated nails and carefully smoothed the nail polish on with a finesse and preciseness that came from years of experience.

"Sir! They have breached the border!"

The sudden noise startled the man, who had smeared the polish over his fingers in his jerk of surprise.

A vein popped in his head as he slowly, deliberately, placed the brush down and examined his ruined fingertip. A cold wave swept through the spines of everyone in the room. The poor recruit that had yelled the news suddenly felt a odd chill shooting down his body.

He got off his high chair, and walked over to the poor man, shaking in his boots, aware that he had done a grievous wrong.

He held up his hands, showing the ruined finger to the man.

"Do you see these fingers, my dear?" He said softly.

The recruit, fear causing him to lose his voice, nodded.

His eyes slanted into a predatory glint. "Good."

"Because that's the last thing you'll ever see."

**[***]**

_Somewhere in Marine Branch 153_

"Good job as always, Ziggy. Always a pleasure working with you," the commodore said stiffly. He was a middle-aged man, grey hairs showing amongst faded orange. Even so, he was built and strong, and stood proudly, cape slung over his shoulders. His lieutenant, a dark-blonde haired woman with tan skin and sunglasses stood at attention, electric blue eyes carefully scrutinizing the two of them through darkly tinted frames.

Zak Ziggy stood, red-brown hair plastered with sweat and shoulders hunched from his 'work'. But he still managed to look at the two Marine officers and scowl. "Yeah, whatever," he replied back, too tired for a real comeback.

"Your food is being delivered to your room as we speak. As you are regenerating your blood cells, the seastone cuffs will not be put on you. Please allow yourself to be escorted back to your residence."

Zak shrugged. He had heard this general command, worded a hundred different ways. He stood still as the four guards extended their seastone poles and surrounded him, creating a little square 'cage' around him, so that it was not touching him, therefore unable to hinder his devil fruit healing, but it stopped him from making a break for it. They began to walk and Zak followed, careful not to move too fast or too slow in case he accidentally burned himself on the seastone. As he exited the room, the two Marine officers nodded their heads slightly -in recognition? Or thanks? He couldn't tell. He raised a hand and gave a half-hearted, but somehow managing to be slightly snide- two finger salute.

He had been with the Marines for a long time, helped them heal their select critically injured, by giving blood to them. His O-type blood was perfect for this, and his blood cells would then regenerate in their body before dissipating, allowing the person to replenish the blood lost while being healed. The latest patient, a tall dark haired woman who had gotten hurt from something or other straight through the leg, lay breathing normally and in a stable condition on the operating table.

All thanks to Zak, of course. _All thanks to me_, he thought to himself spitefully. _Wonderful._

**[***]**

_Somewhere in the ocean…_

Yuki bobbed up and down on the waves, sea spray coating her face in a salty mist. She took a deep breath and lay back, feet propped up on the edge of her small ship. Checking her log pose, she saw that she was nearing the next island- Loguetown.

The wind brushed back her short dark brown hair as she curled her knees up to her chest, hugging her small, athletic frame.

She allowed the dull pounding of the waves to soothe her rhythm and relaxed.

**[***]**

_Somewhere in Loguetown…_

I was packing up my makeshift calligraphy stand when a group of people came running past. One of the girls with dark hair bumped her wrist against one of my tent poles. She gave a glance towards her wrist and towards me but hurried on.

I shrugged, bemused at the rush but not that caring. I kept on emptying my ink and cleaning my brushes, preparing to go. Can't stay in one place for too long- the life of a wanted man.

"Excuse me, sir?" I looked up as an old lady approached me. She was short and her face was worn with time and wrinkles; but it was a kind face, and the wrinkles were akin to laughter lines.

"Yes, grandmother*?" I deferred politely. "What can I do for you today?"

She smiled and pulled out an old photo, worn at the edges. Obviously it had been pulled out and looked out many times. It was a faded picture of a woman with a young teen boy who was hugging the woman and rubbing her hair affectionately. "This is me, when I was younger and my hair nt faded to the white it is now," she said, pointing to the middle-aged woman. "And this is my son, Voon." she rubbed her finger carefully over his 2-D face, smiling softly. She paused a moment before looking back up at me. "We were never very well-off, and my husband gone and pass'd away some time after he was born. It was always just the two of us. Then he married a wonderful woman- very rich and noble, you see- and started sending money back to me."

I interjected. "Wait, he didn't invite you to move in with them?"

She had a vague look on her face. "No, he didn't." She sighed, weary. "I understand that he doesn't want an old, fussy woman like me 'round anymore." She managed to bring back her smile. "I don't mind. I do just fine here. It's just...I miss him and want to know how he's doing. But I never learned how to read. When I had Voon, I promised meself that he would learn how to read, that he wouldn't end up like me. I went hungry sometimes so that I had enough money to send him to school, and bless his heart, he always went. Model student, he was. Graduated top of his class and attracted the attention of the Veronas, he did." The little old woman puffed up proudly.

I was touched by this woman's story, but, "I see. What did you need me for then?" I asked, anticipating her answer.

"Well, I was walking along here- I recently moved here, and he hasn't talked to me in such a long time. I just want to know how he's doing, tell him about my address change and other such. Since I saws you writing all them pretty letters, I thought you could write a little something for me," she stopped and looked at my half-packed stand. "But if you're fixin' to leave, I won't trouble you any more." She smiled that lovely quaint smile of hers. "Does an old woman like me good, you know. Talkin' to young folks like you, who're willing to listen to the heartsick ramblings of folks like me." She began to hobble away. I reached out a hand and smiled myself, breaking my usually stoic demeanor. "Wait, grandmother. I'll write that letter for you. Here," I reached for a brush that was drying on the stand and poured some ink on the bowl I just washed. Grabbing a piece of paper next to me, I placed it in front and dipped my brush in ink. "I'm ready. What would you like to say?"

She hobbled back and took a deep breath, beginning to dictate. "Dear Voon…"

_**A while later… **_

I blew on the paper very carefully, letting the ink dry a little bit more before handing it to her. "Here you go, and good luck."

The little lady gripped the paper like it was going to fly away any moment before beaming at me. "How much do I owe you?" she asked.

"It was my pleasure," I responded.

She grinned and began to walk away, tucking the paper carefully into the folds of her clothing. She turned back. "By the way, better not get your girlfriend mad by dropping these things," she said, picking up two shiny, thin gold bracelets from the corner of my stand. I shook my head. "They're not mine. Wouldn't you care to take them?" I asked.

She retracted her hand, and pondered for a moment. Then she reached out once again and put it on the table. "Then as it was mine, it is now yours. Payment, in a way?"

I nodded and gave her one last smile. "Thank you, granny."

She went and hobbled away slowly, throwing one last parting behind her shoulder. "Oh no, dear child, thank you."

**[***]**

_Somewhere in the rebuilt Upper Yard…_

A woman dressed in shades of brown walked along the street. Her clothing was reminiscent of Native American dress, with the exception of the shiny plated white-mirrors that slung across her thighs. They were quite large, opaque, smooth and rectangular. The same material appeared to be what her sickle shaped weapon was made of. She was pretty looking in an earthy way, tan Shandian skin and dark brown eyes. But not exceptionally beautiful. In fact, the only noticeable thing was the pink v-shaped scar on her face. Its vertex sat on the bridge of her nose and extended outward, the two lines branching over her eyebrows and disappearing into her hairline. Oh yes, and also she had no wings. This can be explained- you see-

*pulls out pointer and map*

100 years before the time period of this storyline, some hundred years after (canon) Pirate Age, some Skylanders decided to come down to inhabit the Blue Sea. Not much, mind you- only a few. However, due to this, their wings slowly started to disappear into their backs, until there was no sign of them but two white marks that faintly resembled small wings etched into their backs.

*pops back out of existence*

The woman neared a house and stopped, looking at the address on the paper and on the house. "Hmm," she said, before she entered the house.

Waiting inside was a man and a woman. The man, of course, is not important to this particular story. So let us call him...Timmy. He has a banana shaped head.

(He's not that important.)

"Nuna!" exclaimed the other woman located in the room.

"Hadan," said Nuna. "Why did you bring me here?"

Hadan was striking-quite literally- and not just because of the drastically different dress. Where Nuna wore shades of brown and neutral, earthy colors, Hadan wore varying shades of (grey- just kidding) oranges and yellows. Her flared half-skirt resembled flames, flowing down from her waist, as did the short, ruffled top that left her stomach bare. Her eyes were a piercing, bright yellow. If this didn't alert you to her Devil fruit power, maybe the fact that her hair was also layered and choppy, short, and orange/yellow. Also it had the tendency to alight in flames when she got excited. As it was now.

(Yes, even her eyebrows lit in fire.)

And just like fire, Hadan Taima was rash, impulsive, and quite literally, 'hot-headed'.

"This here is Timmy." she gestured toward the banana-headed man. "He's a facial specialist."

The flamboyantly-dressed man bowed low. "Delighted to be of service, miss."

Nuna stared at them warily. "And what, exactly, is a facial specialist?"

"Well, I-" Timmy began before being interrupted by Hadan. "Basically he fixes your face!"

Cue awkward. "My face? I was not aware that it needed fixing." Nuna replied despondently,.

"No-no," Hadan hastily repaired. "Your face is fine! But it would look so much prettier without the scar."

The room suddenly grew a little bit tense, as Nuna stiffened. "So that is what this is all about." she said quietly.

She turned and began to leave. "Wait!" Hadan cried. "Nuna, why don't you want to get rid of it? Don't you think the scar-"

Nuna spun around. "The scar that you gave me, you mean." she said coldly.

Timmy, sensing drama, slowly edged away. "Um...I'll be in the back!"

No one gave him a second glance- which was, on some level, totally alright with him, as he closed the door and gave the women some privacy.

Now Hadan stiffened too. "Yes, the scar I gave you. Won't you get rid of it?" she said testily, hair flaring darker orange.

"No." Nuna said the syllable simply, then spun around to leave.

Hadan made a strangled noise, a mix of tears and anger, before falling to the floor in frustration.

"Why, Nuna? Why? Is it because you want to hurt me? To remind me that I will never be forgiven?"

The woman stopped in the doorway. Slowly, she turned to face the sobbing girl on the floor.

"I do not wish to hurt you,_ Shabeth_," Nuna said, referring again to their native language. "But I wear this scar as a reminder to you. I am your reminder to never be so foolish. Your guilt. Whenever you look at me and see my face, I want you to remember how it came to be there. I want you to remember why it came to be there, and I want you to remember how it must never happen again, because it is what happens when you act so rashly and lose control."

She then turned and left. She stopped right before closing the door.

"I never blamed you."

The door closed with a soft _click._

* * *

Omake:

T: So all her hair goes up in flames?  
Me: Yes.  
T: ….ALL her hair?  
Me: .….  
T: *is thrown out for being stupid*

*Hope you guys understand she's not really his grandmother, but that's what you call anyone of her age in asian culture. Again, wanted to use japanese, but thought it would be confusing- hence 'grandmother'.

**So yeah...an update for you guys! I'm almost done with ch.6, but it's probably not going to be done til..may...ish..if I'm lucky XD end of school year, desperately trying to get the grades up, yadda yadda. I promise more characters as well~ **

**So to explain this chapter: these are just some characters that will appear throughout the story, giving brief background, etcetc. The calligraphy guy is Russet, btw. I didn't explicitly introduce him, but he will be a main character and I feel bad for not writing him in sooner. It's just that...some of the characters immediately click with me, and I know exactly how I want to write them, you know? And then for other characters I need more information, need more thought. **

**And no worries~ that baa-chan (gramma) is not evil XD don't be biased just cuz one old man was a stupid pervert LOL. **

**Leave a review too :P Esp. if your character appeared in here. Give me some feedback on how I should write them~ And even if they're not :P leave feedback on ideas on how I should work with them. Honestly- the more information the better. **

**The story's just getting started XD **


	9. Chapter 6: but once gained momentum

**sigh...let's just get this over with *groans* trying to meet your own deadlines is like trying to stand on your back- a fruitless endeavor and also impossible to achieve. BUT I DID IT. MUAHAHA. **

**yeah just read and please don't throw anything at meh :3 enjoy~**

* * *

_If ya'll need a refresher: _

_LOL JK JUST GO READ THE END OF THE LAST CHAPTER. YOU REALLY THINK I'M GONNA WRITE IT OUT FOR YOU? AHAHAHAHA. _

_Sorry I couldn't resist. I was going to rewrite it, but I'm too tired. SUCKS~ 3 LOVE Y'ALL THOUGH. ALLL Y'ALL. ALSO I HAVE DEVELOPED A SLIGHT SOUTHERN ACCENT. ALSO, I AM THE SLIGHTEST BIT HIGH. _

* * *

Mik seethed quietly. His face was set into a harsh, grim line. He usually looked like that, he supposed, but now the blank demeanor had an edge about it.

He stared down impassively at the potbellied, burly bandit who called himself Bob, who was shaking like a leaf.

Mik kept his knife pointed at the bandit's throat, while the other hand grabbed a fistful of Bob's shirt and yanked forward. Bob gulped as his jugular came dangerously close to being slit.

"I should kill you," Mik hissed. "Going around, kidnapping defenseless girls? You're sick." He tightened his grip. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't take your head as a trophy right now."

Bob eyed the knife and kept his mouth firmly sealed, but his Adam's apple bobbed as he trembled furiously, eyes wide and fearful.

Mik looked at him disdainfully and let go. "You worthless piece of trash." he spat, stepping back and sheathing his knife. "It would dirty my blade to cut you."

Bandit Bob fell back and gasped, rubbing his throbbing chest. He watched Mik as he took two deep breaths and then relaxed, squatting until the two were eye level with each other. Bob stared into the dark grey eyes, now more calmer and focused.

"Now then," he resumed speaking, getting to down to business. "You better tell me everything you know." He poked his blade against Bob's chest for emphasis. "Don't leave out anything now."

[***]

From a distance, Lily watched the others interrogate the bandit. The drowsy haze was beginning to wear off and her thoughts began drifting from _"Mik is hot when he's angry" _to _"Oh my god I'm alive. I have a throbbing headache, and I'm alive."_

Though she was relieved...she was still too dizzy to move. She could feel her hands and feet though, which may or may not have been a good thing, as they were smarting and prickling like needlepoints.

Without a warning, she began to cry. Thin rivulets of tears fell silently upon her pale, bruised face. She lifted her hands up to stifle her quiet sobs- what would her mother say?

_Ladies do not shed tears in public, young lady. Noble ladies are calm and composed. We represent the highest class of society, and we are demure yet strong. Do not cry, girl!_

_Do not cry! _She repeated to herself, sniffling as softly as she could. Although she couldn't help the tears that dripped, she could control how loud she was, desperately trying to hide her face, for fear that Mik would notice and worry.

"Lily?" Mira, hearing the faint noises behind her, bent to her level, dark hair falling forward. Seeing the tears, she called out more urgently. "Lily! What's wrong? Does something hurt?"

"Nothing's wrong," Lily muttered back. "I'm fine."

Mira seemed to want to say something, but at Lily's glare, she thought better of it. "Okay."

Instead, she rummaged around and pulled out a small cloth napkin and handed it to Lily. Lily grabbed it hesitantly and muttered a quiet, "Thank you." She rubbed her eyes but then started crying again.

_I was scared. _

[***]

"That's all, I swear!" Bob pleaded.

Rekka slid a sideways glance to me. "Well, Kiko? What do you think?"

I gave a derisive snort and turned away. The man was obviously terrified out of his wits, and useless. This was what we had gotten out of him so far:

He was a bandit.

His name was Bandit Bob.

He wasn't a stranger to the slave trade- but he only sold girls to the actual traders. He didn't trade the girls himself- as if that made him any better. It was only a 'side business', so to speak. Lily was just one of the girls he was paid to transport, because she had been spotted on the street as easy prey. Wrong place, wrong time. There was no one out for her specifically, so she didn't have hitmen after her or anything, which was a good thing.

Thao sighed. "Mik, he's useless. Let's just beat him up and go."

"Yeah," Rekka interjected. "Ash is still back there too, remember? Let's just go."

Mik looked at the bandit coolly one more time. The poor man was shaking in his worn and frayed boots. "What are you going to do to me?"

Mik smiled. "Nothing," he said, standing up. "I'm going to let you go." As Bob sighed in relief, he closed his eyes, which is why he didn't notice the handle of a butterfly knife strike the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

"What do we do with him?" I asked, looking at them shrug. "If we leave him here, when he wakes up he'll still go around and capture little girls and sell them. We can't just let him do that."

"We could hand him into authority," Rekka suggested.

I took advantage of the idea. "That's not a bad idea. Who's stationed here?"

"Loguetown is a Marine Base- Branch 67, I think."

"They ain't corrupt, are they?" Thao said dubiously.

Mik shrugged. "Who knows? Let's just take 'em in and hope for the best."

"No need, gentlemen," a voice rang out from across the clearing. "We came to you."

All persons in the clearing stiffened and went on guard, alarmed at the new presences. From the edge of the clearing came marching a troop of marines, white-blue dressed uniforms walking in disarrayed union. At the forefront stood what appeared to be the captain, cape slung casually over his shoulders. At his side was a very pale, androgynous looking person- could have been male or a female- lieutenant, following obediently after the captain, who was leading the group. He was a tall man, eyes shadowed by the brim of the marine's cap he wore. He lifted an arm in halfhearted salute.

"Greetings, gentlemen," he said cordially. "I am Captain Clyde, and this is my lieutenant, Bonnie." The lieutenant gave a nod in recognition. The lieutenant's eyes were quick, darting, keen to assess the situation as the captain continued to talk, I noticed.

"We heard there was a commotion in this area, and we are now here to take control of the situation. Please sheathe your weapons and hand over the notorious bandit known as Bob and his men so that we may dispatch of him as soon as possible."

We looked at each other, each silently confirming the other's suspicions. Was this too good to be true?

But what else could we do? We needed to hurry back, needed to see to Lily's potential wounds, needed to see to Ash and get the heck outta here before we got into any more trouble.

Mik made up his mind. "Take him, then." He said, and motioned for us to leave, only to be stopped by the captain's lean muscled arm. "Just a moment, please," the captain spoke with a deceptive calm. "We'd like to know who you are as well, the people who caught such a notorious bandit."

I snorted. "Notorious my left foot. [woulda said something worse] The only reason you couldn't have gotten rid of him by now is because you obviously deemed him as no threat and now that we did all the work- which was not much, by the way- you come in to swoop him up and get the glory." I scoffed but placed my hands up in a placating gesture. "Not that I care. It wasn't really that hard." _You guys are just lazy_, I said to myself.

The captain, eyes still shadowed under the brim, turned to face me, and all of us. "Oh? Now I'm even more curious as to who you guys are." His voice lowered to a dangerous pitch. "Pirates, perhaps?"

"We are NOT pirates!" Mira called from the edge of the group, on the other side of me. She was still huddled around Lily protectively, eyeing the marines who were inching towards them distrustfully.

The captain then thankfully turned his attention away from me, and towards Mira. "Not pirates? Then what, may I ask?"

Mira clenched her hands but didn't falter under the steady gaze (assuming, since his eyes were hidden) of the captain. "We're not pirates," she stated once more. "We're...we're a mercenary team. Bounty hunters," she quickly decided. "We work together and split bounty evenly. Is there a problem with that?" There shouldn't have been. Bounty hunting teams were quite popular these days, much more so than they had been in the past. Being in a team meant that you were grouped with someone probably stronger than you, and thus could catch more criminals that you otherwise couldn't catch.

We weren't, of course, but then the Marines didn't know that yet.

The captain spoke coolly. "A mercenary team," he said, obviously unimpressed.

A chuckle sounded from the partner beside. The lieutenant had laughed and now began to speak. Even with its high, careless tone, it seemed to be a male.

"A mercenary team? What is this ramshackle crew," He turned and addressed us all in a row, from me. "Marieke , one of the most skilled Dock workers-woman, nonetheless- ever to walk the planks of Galley-La. Kuron, a secretive gypsy thief who steals while entertaining to make a living. Thao, the hermit-like 'Alchemic Terror'. Trenchcoat-boy looks familiar as well." He said. "But nothing comes to mind this quickly." He then smirked at Mira and Lily. "And who are you, little ones? Aren't you a little too young to be the manager of this little circus troupe?" He chuckled as she bristled. "I'm 23!"

"What next?" I interrupted, impressed with this knowledge but trying not to show it- and also offended by the jibe on my gender. "'I have gathered you all here today for a very special purpose?' Please." I mocked.

He turned his large, almond shaped eyes toward me, unnaturally cold. "Careful, love, you don't want to mess with me."

The captain took control of the situation once again, nodding towards Bob. "Let us be going then." He tilted his cap at us. "Misses, gentlemen." As he nodded up the light entered the shadow under the brim of his cap and his eye glittered with a ferality- like a wild cat, I thought. And as soon as I thought it, they were long gone.

"What was their problem..." I muttered.

With a nod, we began to head back to the ship.

[***]

Bandit Bob awoke to the sound of pacing. He opened his eyes tentatively- damn that man! His head was still throbbing. If he ever got his hands on the lot of them again…

His brain began to register what he was seeing and hearing and he tried to discern his surroundings.

The thumping sounds from the pacing had come from a blond haired guy, who was apparently agitated. Looking around, there were a few Marine uniforms thrown carelessly down on the floor, and the blond man was currently wearing a loosely buttoned white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Bandit Bob fully awoke when he saw and heard the sheen of a sword being drawn from its sheath.

"Bonnie?" the guy hissed, irritated, pointing his sword at Kai's throat, who was lounging around in half-zoan form, tail swinging lazily. Pooling around him- this 'Kai'- was a Marine Captain coat.

"Sorry Callie," he drawled, not fazed -or apologetic, for that matter- in the least. "I couldn't resist."

Callie sighed and sheathed the sword, but not without a sullen glare to his subordinate. "I'm letting it go because you joke so rarely," he warned. "But I won't hesitate to cut you the next time."

_Kai…Callie…_Bandit Bob ran the names through his head.

_Callie…Crime King….Callie 'Crime King' Jones.._

The realization shot a spark in his head, warning bells ringing frantically. The fear gave him a shot of adrenaline to let him move- but unfortunately not enough.

Callie, sensing the movement, had his sword out in a flash and aimed it close to Bob's nose.

_Why do I feel a sense of déjà vu? _He wondered sullenly, stilling his movements in lieu of accidental death for the second time today as he waited for Callie to name his terms.

"You're awake," Callie said blandly.

Bob didn't realize the statement was a question until the silent pause. "Um. Yeah." He scrambled for something to say. "So..you guys aren't really Marines?"

"Yes." Callie replied shortly.

Bandit Bob again struggled for something to say that wouldn't effectively kill him. "Um. Thank you?"

At this, Callie finally showed emotion and chuckled darkly. "Don't thank me just yet, bandit," he said, tapping the dulled edge of his blade gently against the underside of Bob's chin. "We're not done with you."

[***]

"We're back!" Kiko called out.

They head a scrambling and a crash from inside the ship and then a bright orange head peeked out from behind the door way to the interior of the ship. "Finally! Oh my god, it's about time! Do you know how worried and paranoid I was that-" Ash saw Lily, carried up in Mik's arms with her torn dress. "Whoa. What happened? Are you guys okay?" Ash asked worriedly.

"We're fine," Mira answered. "Kiko will give you the run-down on what happened, won't she?" she looked pointedly at said woman.

"Yeah, sure." Kiko answered unsurely. "Come on Ash. Hey Rekka, do we have anything in the fridge? I'm starving and I haven't had anything but bar peanuts."

"I'll bet all of you are hungry. I'll make like..dinner or something. We really need to get a real cook though," Rekka grumbled.

Thao rubbed his eyes and groaned. "I'm tired. I think I'll take a nap," he called. "Wake me up when dinner's ready!" he called.

"Wake up yourself or starve!" Kiko yelled from the kitchen. Thao groaned again. "Seems like someone's still mad at me for this afternoon," he shrugged as Mira grinned, and then headed downstairs.

Mik didn't particularly care about what was going on one way or the other. He carried Lily to the sole bedroom on the ship and laid her down on the bed. As she yawned, coming down from her drugged and adrenaline-induced high, Mik began treating her bruises and wounds methodically. He cleaned out the knee she skinned and wrapped clean bandages around it, and did likewise for the other cuts and bruises.

He didn't say anything at the sight of handprint-shaped bruises, purple and blue and brown marring her otherwise pearly skin. He didn't say anything, just tightened his grip slightly, at which Lily hissed in discomfort. He immediately loosened his grip. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Mmm, what?" Lily questioned in confusion.

She gasped as he suddenly buried his face in her silken-clad stomach. "Mik..?" she asked hesitatingly.

"Sorry," he muttered into the fabric over her small waist, voice vibrating through her clothes. "Sorry, sorry…"

A slow red heat crawled up Lily's face as she closed her eyes and wrapped her delicate hands into Mik's brown locks.

"It's okay."

[***]

Mik exited the room composed and blank as always. He turned to see Mira leaning against the outside of the room, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"I was waiting."

Mik didn't reply, just stared at her a moment more, before walking off to the kitchen.

Inside the room, Lily, now all cleaned and bandaged up, was sitting up in bed, looking at the ceiling. She could feel the last of the drug's effects begin to wear off and hazy complacency was beginning to give way back to the haughty girl she used to be.

Albeit a sleepy, haughty girl. It had been a long day.

She looked up when the door creaked open again. "Mik? That was fast."

"Nope, it's me." Mira walked through the door and closed it behind her, taking a seat beside the bed. "You okay?"

"Course." Lily said smartly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mira rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay." She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. "I have a quick question."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Go ahead."

"When we were back there," Mira began. "with the Marines. That would have been perfect. We could have just handed you over to the Marines and you may have been home free."

_Flashback: _

_"We are NOT pirates!" Mira called from the edge of the group. She was still huddled around Lily protectively, eyeing the marines who were inching towards them distrustfully. _

_The captain turned his attention away from the others and towards Mira and Lily. "Not pirates? Then what, may I ask?"_

_**This is the perfect chance. We can tell them about Lily- ow! **_

_Lily, as if anticipating what Mira was beginning to say, had squeezed her hand tightly, in almost a sort of panic. __**What the hell? Did she not want to be found? **_

_Deciding quickly, Mira clenched her hands but didn't falter under the Captain's gaze. _

_"We're not pirates," she stated once more. "We're...we're a mercenary team. Bounty hunters," she amended. "We work together and split bounty evenly. Is there a problem with that?" _

_End flashback_

"Why didn't you want me to tell them who you were?" Mira asked.

"I didn't recognize them," Lily said shortly.

"Well it's quite likely that you wouldn't recognize them," Mira said patiently. "There are hundreds of them, there's no way you could know them all."

Lily turned her gaze on Mira steadily. "You'd be surprised."

She then shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Anyway, I just didn't trust them. Plus, remember? I don't have any credentials. I need to just go to the Rains directly. That's all there is to it."

Mira bit her lip, as if thinking about saying something, but then thought better of it. Sighing, she uncrossed her arms and got up. "Fair enough," she called as she left. "See you at dinner then."

[***]

Mik wiped his mouth and set down his fork, scooting his chair back and standing up.

"Going somewhere?" Ash asked curiously, to which he nodded. "Gotta go make a call," he said evasively. "Thanks for dinner, Kuron," he said to Rekka. "I'll take first watch too."

He gave a small wave in response to their callings of 'good night'- Thao had gotten up after all- and shut the door, walking slowly to the captain's study.

Lily watched him go with an unreadable gaze, then turned back to the food and the conversation. She would have thought that eating, with this bunch of people who didn't know each other that well, would be awkward and silent, but surprisingly, the meals were always eaten in either peaceable silence, or companionable laughter. There was still an element of politeness, but it still wasn't as bad as dinners back at the mansion.

Still, she thought. It was weird. She had never eaten at a table where she wasn't being served and was expected to get food for herself. It was awkward because when Mik had finally coaxed her to come eat with the rest of them, she had looked at the large plates in the middle of the table and asked bluntly, "What is that?" to the sudden odd silence in the room. It had taken a few explanations from Mik until she discovered that those were the different meals, and she had to take her own chopsticks and place them on her own plate.

_To others it probably seems like common sense, right? _She thought to herself, sucking on a chopstick, a habit her mother would have killed her for at home. [_Ladies do not participate in that unlady-like behavior, Lily! Have you ever seen a noble sucking on their chopsticks?] _

She had never eaten at a table where it wasn't silence and cold dinnerware. Even with the politeness of strangers, dinners here were closer than food eaten at her own home. Should that mean something?

She shook off the feeling and turned back to her food. It was useless to think of such sentiment anyway

[***]

_In the Captain's study…._

"Hello? This is an operator speaking."

"Yes, could you connect to a Transponder Snail belonging to a Mister Black for me please."

"I can."

"Thank you."

*click. Silence*

"I'm sorry, I don't believe he's picking up."

"That's okay. Would you mind leaving a message for him?"

"Sure thing."

"Please inform him that Kattan needs to speak to him as soon as possible."

"Kattan?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I will leave a message for him. He will probably respond tomorrow. Is this your personal Transponder Snail?"

"No."

"Very well. I'll leave the message. Have a good night."

"Thank you. You as well."

Mik clicked the Transponder Snail asleep and sat at the desk a moment more.

_Mister Black…Kattan…_all names he had not used in quite a while.

_Nostalgic…_

* * *

Omake:

Ash: FINALLY! God, you took me out for SO long…and I don't even have that good of a role in this chapter! DO YOU HATE ME IS THAY WHY

Me: ermm…no…it just TT happened! I told you, I'm sorry! I promise to write more of you.

A: YOU BETTER. OR ELSE…I'll SUE FOR ABUSE

M: -_- really….

Rekka: We need like a cook…being a cook isn't in my character profile.

M: Yeah I know…we also need a navigator…and a doctor…and lots of other stuff -_-

Kiko: yeah instead we have no captain, no navigator, no doctor, and no cook, but wait we have an ALCHEMIST! That makes it all better *sarcastic*

Thao: Y U NO LIKE ME?

K: No particular reason. Kiza's the one writing this. Plus apparently I already have a lover in my life.

M: Hey! These things just happen, okay! Leave me alone. I got to go anyway.

Mira: To do what? You have no life.

M: TT I'm so sad….my own characters bully me… TT

**And I gotta end there TT I met my deadline! Week after school ends~ just like I promised, if any of you were checking the Ocs submission story, haha. -that is no one- but yes. I feel like this one was kind of rushed for me, because as some of you know I suffered MAJOR writer's block…so in the end I was like SCREW THIS *flips table* I'M JUST GONNA POWER THROUGH. Use yo imaginationnsss for better….betterness…*ahem***

**So basically I finally got rid of stupid Bandit Bob…introduced some main antagonists…more characterization (hopefully anyway TT). In case of confusions, yes Mik knocked him out, yes that first person section was told through the view of Kiko, yes the Marines were actually not Marines, [dey were FAKKEE hoh yes mindblown], yes Bandit Bob is not gonna have a good time, NO Mik and Lily did not do anything R rated, they just cuddled as Mik shows off his rare vulnerability, and yes Mik is trying to connect with someone…MYSTERIOUSS *wooo mysteryy* **

**And yes Thao and Kiko don't particularly get along XD muahah I dunno why because their dynamic should be good but LOL it just happened…sigh.**

**Special excerpt of what I was feeling like writing that awk scene with Mik/Lily [yeah I had to spaz out below because I felt so WURD]: Ah gahd I felt like I was reading a shoujo manga ah mah gahd dfhskldfhlsdhflkas spaz. I'm not any good at this stuff, I know, because the only thing I have to go off of is from reading and other people's experiences TT I'm a loner loser so I've never experienced anything like that personally. So I have no idea if like tsdlsdfjhsa I mean when the only thing you can base it off of is Harlequin romances and shoujo, its bound to end up weird and awkward and things and-**

***inhales***

**Yeah I'm done. REVIEW. And don't...harass meh about characters TT I know already..I have them all lined up in the order of appearanceee **

**next one's gonna be a long one, y'all. Be warned. **


	10. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

DON'T HATE ME PLEASE-

This isn't a chapter. [avoids boos and hisses and thrown things] I'm really sorry!

First order of business: **I know Author's Notes can't be chapters so I'm going to delete this as soon as possible.**..I'll replace it with a real chapter when I get it written. I just did this because I didn't want to go through and PM everyone about it. Which leads us to..

Second order of business: I HAVE AN EXCUSE! So some of you know I write my chapters on my really old desktop PC. Since the middle of June it was having problems, shutting off my Microsoft Word while I was writing and sometimes not saving anything, and numerous other annoyances. It got to the point where I had to just restore the entire computer. By doing so, it removed all the previous files and downloads I had on my computer (except for all the stuff I saved before...). So even though I promised I would have the next chapter out at the end of June [TT] I lied...

But the good news is my computer is totally healthy again! The only problem as of right now...is that somehow I lost all the Microsoft Office stuff. Like no Word, no OneNote, no Powerpoint, no nothing. And the files that I had saved from before can only be opened on Microsoft Office series 2010. And...I can't find a place to download that anywhere, and I'm loathe to spend 130+ dollars on it..but it seems I have no choice...I have to be able to open my files to keep writing, right? So yeah...not looking good as of right now. I'm probably going to end up paying a bunch of money to buy another Microsoft Office set *crys*

SO I'll try to get another chapter out at LEAST before the start of school (Around August) (It doesn't help that I'm going to be out of town during July as well) but...

**que sera, sera**

_[what will be, will be]_

HAPPY SUMMER THOUGH TO YOU GUYS~ AND MAY WRITER'S BLOCK AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM YOU~

Kiza out ^^


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